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7 THE
ABERDEEN
UNIVERSITY
REVIEW
VOLUME IV
1916-17
Printed at
The Aberdeen University Press
^^ I kji'r
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY REVIEW."
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.
Convener: The Very Rev. Principal Sir George Adam Smith
{Convener of Editorial Sub-Committee).
Vice-Convener: Mr. P. J. Anderson.
Secretary {and Assistant Editor) : Mr. Robert Anderson.
Hon. Treasurer {Interim) : Mr. David M. M. Milliqan.
Mr. Henry Alexander.
Professor J. B. Baillie.
Miss Maud Storr Best.
Dr. James E. Crombie.
Professor William L. Davidson.
Mr. James W. Garden {Hon, Treasurer).
Rev. Professor Jambs Gilrov.
Mr. William Grant.
Professor Matthew Hay.
Professor J. M. Irvine.
Professor A. A. Jack.
Mr. J. F. Kellas Johnstone.
Mr. W. Keith Lbask.
Professor Ashley W. Mackintosh.
Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray.
Miss Williamina A. Rait.
Professor R. W. Reid.
Colonel J. Scott Riddell, M.V.O.
Rev. Professor John A. Sblbib.
Mr. Donaldson R. Thom.
Professor J. Arthur Thomson.
Mr. W. Stewart Thomson.
Dr. Robert Walker.
Mr. Theodore Watt {Convener of Busi-
ness Sub-Committee).
The President of the S.R.C.
UH-
A3
IV
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
SECOND
SUPPLEMENT
TO
PROVISIONAL ROLL OF SERVICE
1916-1 7
I
This Second Supplement to the Provisional Roll of Service
has been closed on June 20, 191 7, so that it covers practically a
year from the close of the First Supplement to the Provisional
Roll issued in July, 191 6, with Vol. Ill of the Aberdeen
University Review.
This Supplement, which follows the same divisions as the
Roll, contains not only all new names reported during the year,
but the names of any transferred from one branch of H.M's.
Forces to another and of all previously in the ranks who have
now been reported commissioned. It is not possible to record
all promotions ; a list of all reported to us is being kept ; and
students and graduates are hereby earnestly requested to send
the Principal information of any changes in their units or ranks.
The lists of commissions and enlistments in the Volunteer
Force are necessarily very imperfect. The same is the case
with the list of workers on munitions.
The list of the Fallen, one hundred and seventy, is given
from the beginning. It has not been found possible to give a
full list of the wounded ; they number towards two hundred.
A list of the Honours gained by graduates and students
on service since the beginning of the War is now given for
the first time.
Where no number is given for the year of a student's
curriculum, 1 9 1 3- 1 4 is to be understood. The bracket (O. T. C. )
after a name signifies previous service in the Aberd. Univ.
Contingent O.T.C. ; the bracket (Cdt.) previous training in an
Officer Cadet Battalion.
Corrections and Additions should be addressed to,
AND will be gratefully RECEIVED BY,
THE PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN,
Marischal College, Aberdeen.
VI
CONTENTS.
PAGE
5n jfftcmoriam i
I. The Staff 14
II. Graduates 16
Commissioned . . . 16
Enlisted 27
British Red Cross Society 32
III. Alumni 34
Commissioned 34
Enlisted . . . . . . . . . '35
IV. Students 37
Commissioned .......... 37
Enlisted .......... 39
V. List of Orders and Decorations 48
Summary of Proyisional Roll and Supplements .... 54
/
^
The Very Reverend THOMAS NICOL, M.A., D.D.,
Professor of Biblical Criticism, 1899-1916.
The
Aberdeen University Review
Vol. IV. No. lo November, 191 6
Professor Nicol — An Appreciation.
ITH the departure of Professor Nicol disappears one
of the best scholars of the time in the north of
Scotland. He added a name to the " Aberdeen
Doctors". He has left a permanent impression
on the students of its University.
Inheriting many gifts, he made the very best
possible use of them. He was a student from his
very youth. His tenacious memory was "wax to receive and marble
to retain " ; and through all his University career this greatly helped
him. Joined to his other mental gifts and his diligence, it placed him
in the very forefront of the graduates of his day.
Fordoun was his birthplace and Fettercairn Parish School gave him
his earliest training. There under Mr. Cameron, who afterwards be-
came Dr. Cameron, he first imbibed the love of learning. That teacher
was one of the grand old ** Parochials ". On a small income and in
a very humble and mean building, he did a great work. His portrait
is well depicted in the " Domsie " of Ian Maclaren : and he left an im-
perishable record in many whom he sent to the University and to
Editorial chairs. There young Nicol began his Latin and Greek
studies and afterwards carried them on as a pupil teacher in Montrose.
Direct from it he passed into Aberdeen University as fourth bursar.
He took a foremost place in Classics and Philosophy: in both of
which he finally took first class honours, carrying off also the Simpsoa
Greek £70 and the Hutton ;^30 prizes. To him also went the FuU
lerton Scholarship in Classics and Mental Philosophy — since separated
but then combined in one.
I
2 Aberdeen University Review
Dr. Nicol always had a love for teaching and it was clear he would
find his final work in a Professorial Chair. But the ministry of Christ
claimed his first love. I believe the determining element was found
in the Class of Christian Evidences taught by Professor Milligan in
the Magistrand year. That influence shaped his future and carried
him and more of us into the Divinity Hall. Dr. Milligan had also a
Sunday morning class for the study of the Greek Testament in which
the young student's love of the Greek literature of the Bible was greatly
intensified and grew into the passion of his life. In that Sunday
morning class the old Professor was unconsciously training up his own
successor and inspiring him with his own ideals.
Professor Nicol was pre-eminently a scholar of the very best type
of the Classical Scholars of Aberdeen. His culture covered a large
field of literature. It was marked by great accuracy and acumen.
He knew all that was best in his own subject and all that was cognate
and complemental to it. Gradually he had amassed immense treasures
in the whole field of Biblical Science. As a Professor he made the
study of the New Testament his professional duty ; and his contribu-
tions to its literature are ample evidence of his devotion to Biblical
learning.
His sympathies were wisely balanced between the past and the
present. He was very alive to the importance of the critical move-
ment, appreciated its processes, and reverently received all its proved
results, while rejecting all unverified theories. His whole teaching was
pervaded by a fine evangelic spirit, the true affinities of which he set
forth clearly in his lectures. His spirit was neither one of fear nor of
bondage. But it had the sane instinct which discerned the voice of
God in the Bible and was sure that the sacred volume would safely
stand the most searching criticism. And so while obeying the influ-
ences of progressive thought he carefully conserved essential truth.
As a man, he was the most delightful sociuSy a bright talker, over-
flowing with vivacity and quick at repartee. He had much of that
fine
Heart-affluence in discursive talk
From household fountains never dry ;
The critic clearness of an eye,
That saw thro' all the Muses' walk.
He kept and strengthened all his early friendships, and they were
Professor Nicol — An Appreciation 3
many. Few indeed have had such a wide acquaintance with men of
all ranks and classes and with the best scholars all over the world.
From boyhood he had what the Psychologists to-day call " the
instinct for religion ". He seemed to breathe in its atmosphere as if
it were his native element. Early to him spoke the Inner Voice. No
student ever entered Nicol's rooms without seeing the Bible and the
Greek Testament on his mantelpiece. With him the growth in grace
was not catastrophic, but gradual and orderly. He set the naturalness
of our divine sonship in the forefront of his teaching. He knew well
all sides of religious experience ; and he always maintained that they
formed the indispensable apprenticeship of a Christian teacher.
It was his great delight to preach " the everlasting Gospel ". The
winning voice, the earnest tone, the reverent manner, all were his and
made the truth tell. They impressed and they impelled. In a quiet
Galloway parish and in a large Edinburgh church, his influence was
deep and lasting. His sermons always dealt directly with the sub-
stance of Christian truth and its outcome in Christian life. Side issues
never seduced him. He spoke from the heart of things to the hearts
of his hearers.
Every good movement had his help both as Professor and
Moderator of the Church. Into the Life and Work Committee, into
the Jewish Mission and the Foreign Mission, he threw himself with
warm ardour, much knowledge and sane judgment. His Moderatorial
year was a very trying one, for the war broke out in the course of it.
But calmly and wisely he met all emergencies ; and the duties of the
high office were discharged with tact and ability. He will be greatly
missed in the College of Moderators.
When the sudden news of his death arrived, it stunned us ; but
soon thereafter there came the conviction — He has done his work, he
has lived the allotted span, the Church has happily called him to her
highest posts, and he has filled them well. He has gone to higher
service and on loftier levels. " Well done ! good and faithful servant."
W. S. BRUCE.
Aberdeen University Review
TRIBUTE BY THE PRINCIPAL.
Principal Sir George Adam Smith preached the sermon at the
memorial service to the late Very Rev. Professor Nicol, D.D., in Old-
machar Cathedral, 13 August, 1 91 6. Rev. Dr. Calder conducted the
opening part of the service.
The Principal preached from Psalm xliii. 5, and at the close of his
sermon paid the following tribute to the memory of Professor Nicol.
" We mourn," he said, " the loss of one, the steady influence of whose
character and service it would be hard to over-estimate. For his age,
our friend Dr. Nicol was a young man, and we might have looked, as we
have looked, for some years more of his gracious fellowship, his wise
counsel, and even his busy labours in the highest interests of his people.
It is not for me, who knew Dr. Nicol only during the last seven years
of his life, to attempt a full appreciation of his gifts or of his long and
faithful career ; but we have heard from those who were familiar with
him from boyhood of his brave and honest youth, characteristic of so
many of our countrymen, and how without other advantage than the
old parochial system of education he made his way into the University,
and through her classes to the highest honours she held for her
students. They tell us how, with the promise which he gave of
eminence in other professions, he dedicated his powers and services to
religion, and like many others without any consciousness of self-
sacrifice in doing so, but rather because the ministry of the Gospel to
his fellow-men seemed the fullest opportunity for development and the
highest privilege which could come to himself. He was a bom pastor,
and the fruits of his long ministries in the country and the town still
live, and will long live among the people over whom he was settled.
Through all his arduous labours for them he maintained the high
standard of the scholar, and entered into his work as professor with as
full learning and as trained a mind as any of his theological colleagues
in the country. The ripe fruits of his studies and of his ministry we have
enjoyed for seventeen years in this city and this University, and we
thank God for giving him to us. His learning was never at fault,
always accurate, always adequate, in its exercise always clear, pro-
portioned, just and sane. What impressed us most in his mental
powers was the combination of independence and reasonableness, of
caution and strong conviction, complementary qualities not always
Tribute by the Principal 5
found together in the same mind. His pastoral work had given him
that knowledge of men, tact and charitableness, which we learned to
value in his counsels and in the share he took in the administration both
of Church and school. He was a generous friend, a true Christian gentle-
man, about whom there was nothing petty, nothing narrow, nothing
selfish. To me, as a minister of the sister Church now in the midst of
negotiations for union with Dr. Nicol's own, it is a privilege to have
this occasion to speak about him. He was a living proof to those on
my side of the substantial unity of the two Churches. The United
Free Church equally rejoiced in the honour Dr. Nicol's Church did
him in raising him to the Moderator's chair, and we equally re-
cognised how deserved that honour was because Dr. Nicol illustrated
to us what makes the proposed union desirable to our hearts —
the characteristic piety of the Church of Scotland, and the solidity,
caution, and breadth of her learning. The grounds upon which he
sought to labour for union were those upon which alone they will
be blessed and be successful — our common faith, our deeply
common faith, our duty to the religious necessities and problems of
the nation, and the conviction that out of our different experiences in
these three-quarters of a century, during which we have been separ-
ated from one another, we each have developed distinct gifts to bring
to each other, gifts which are equally essential to the life of a
national and catholic Church. In all the negotiations. Dr. Nicol's
example, his influence and counsel told strongly, and it is not the
least of the many losses we are suffering from his death that in what
remains of conference and adjustment between the Churches we shall
be deprived of his presence. May the temper, patience, caution, and
courage which he consistently showed through his career abide with
us all to the attainment of the high end for which he laboured and
prayed. We have all lost a friend, a very dear and valued friend,
whom in death as in life we hold in the highest honour and affection."
At the closeof the service the Dead March in " Saul" was played,
the congregation remaining standing.
Company Quartermaster-Sergeant Charles
McGregor.
TeOvdfievat yhp koKov eve irpofidxoKTt trea-ovra
dvSp' dyaObv irepl rj irarpLhi. fiapva/jLevov.
N the British section, European portion, of the
Southern Cemetery, Calais, plot C, row 4, grave
No. 10, marked by a wooden cross, lie the mortal
remains of C.Q.M.S. Charles McGregor, lOth
Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. So runs the brief,
bald, matter-of-fact official account. In neighbour-
ing graves, as we know, marked in the same
simple fashion, are buried men who in civil life were clerks, shop-
keepers, farmers, lawyers, stockbrokers, navvies, students, and noble-
men. A proof this of the unparalleled upheaval in the ordinary life of
the nation, and a flat contradiction of the opinion previously expressed
by many that the glory of our race had departed. After two years the
war continues to rage with undiminished fury and mercilessness, " as
if the danceiof battles had only just begun ". What has been accom-
plished on and off the battle-fields since August, 191 4, to the present
day cannot be weighed or measured up. " There aren't any figures
big enough for the reckoning," as a Lieutenant-Colonel of the British
Army put i it. All the material and spiritual forces of our people at
home and abroad have been thrown into the fray. The flower of our
manhood^have been falling like ripe corn before the scythe. But they
never fail who die in a great cause, and these years of stupendous sac-
rifice, despite the wreckage of a war more destructive in its effects than
any of those that have preceded it, can only result in the bringing in
of a new age refreshed and braced for fresh achievements in all de-
partments of social life. \
We know the arduous strife, the eternal laws
To which the triumph of all good is given, ^
High sacrifice, and labour without pause
Even to the death : else wherefore should the eye
Of man converse with immortality ?
/
CHARLES McGregor, m.a.
C.Q.M.S. Charles McGregor 7
In the last issue of this Review it was reported that of the total
number, amounting to nearly 1900, connected with our University,
who were on war service of some kind or other, close on ninety had
fallen. These included men belonging to all the faculties, and among
them were some who had gained high distinction at this and other
Universities. The question may, therefore, be asked, Why single out
Charles McGregor for special notice ? The main reason lies in the
fact mentioned by the Principal in his article, " Two Years of War :
the Record of the University ". His words, which I take the liberty of
repeating, were — '* Quartermaster-Sergt. Charles McGregor (M. A. with
First CI. Hons. Maths. '96), loth Gordons, did more by his courage
and self-denial to inspire our students with a sense of duty to their
country than any one else among us. Though beyond the military age
he enlisted early in the war, and declining all offers of a commission
served in the ranks and as a non-commissioned officer with rare patience,
ability, and great influence on all his comrades." This belief is held
also by Sir Henry Craik, our representative in Parliament, who in a
letter written to McGregor when he heard that he had been wounded,
said : — " I am greatly concerned to learn that you have in your patriotic
service been wounded. Your sacrifice and the honour it has brought
both to yourself and your University make me esteem it a high privi-
lege to count you amongst my constituents." Other equally valid
reasons may be briefly referred to, since they form a part of the record
of the activities in which McGregor's abundant energy found an out-
let. As Master of Method at the Training Centre for Teachers he
held an educational post of high responsibility in the city. He was
twice President of the local branch of the Educational Institute of
Scotland. He was a member of the Business Committee of the
General Council in whose deliberations he took a prominent part.
Lastly he greatly interested himself in the establishment of this REVIEW,
serving on the Committee of Management, and acting with much zeal
and acceptance as its Secretary. For those and other reasons, then,
it is hoped that a short account of the life and work of one who not
only has deserved well of his country, but also has shed lustre on our
Alma Mater, may prove not unwelcome to readers.
The career of Mr. McGregor aflbrds a good example of the truth
of Juvenal's rhetorical question,
Stemmata quid faciunt ? quid prodest, Pontice, longo
Sanguine censeri ?
8 Aberdeen University Review
He began life without any advantage of birth or of favour, unless we
reckon it an advantage of both kinds that he was born in Scotland,
which, blessed as few countries are blessed with great educational op-
portunities open to the children of the humblest parentage, has seen
such a large number of the sons of the very poorest rise to honour if
not to affluence in the higher walks of life. McGregor received his
early education in Commerce Street Public School. Here he soon
showed the kind of stuff of which he was made. Having nothing to
depend on but a stock of native capacity, backed, it is true, by in-
domitable perseverance, the young scholar worked hard, attracting the
favourable notice of his masters and superiors, and laying the founda-
tion of his future eminence as a student and a teacher. We are not
surprised, therefore, to learn that in 1888 he was elected at the age of
fifteen to a pupil-teachership in the school. Every one familiar with
the early days of Board schools knows what a hard lot the duties of
such a post connoted. Often placed in full charge for the whole day
of a class numbering anything from forty to sixty, the overburdened
P.T. had either before or after school hours proper to attend classes
himself for the purpose of receiving instruction to enable him to pass
the examination for entrance to the Training College. McGregor had
the good fortune to be under an able head master in the person of the
late Mr. John Beaumont. I have often heard him speak in flattering
terms of Mr. Beaumont's ability both as a scholar and a teacher.
He was a stern man, it seems, cast in the mould of the old Scotch
dominies who did not spare the rod. Nevertheless, he was loved and
admired by the best pupils, who recognized that under his somewhat
forbidding exterior was hid a really warm heart and kindly nature.
It was the head master himself who took the pupil- teachers in Latin.
The book studied for the entrance examination was Virgil's " iEneid ".
Like St. Augustine, Dante, and hundreds more, Mr. Beaumont felt the
wizardry of that poet's art, and used to read and expound his Latin
hexameters, " the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man,"
in a way that brought home to the boys their beauty and that strange
pathos the memory of which never ceases to haunt the mind of those
who have once come under its spell. To such teaching were probably
due McGregor's liking for Latin and his subsequent success in the
Latin class at the University. He never learned Greek, perhaps no
great loss in his case, as his bent was towards not Languages but
Science and Mathematics.
C.Q.M.S. Charles McGregor 9
In his teaching McGregor, we are told, displayed the same char-
acteristics as in his studies, unsparing devotion of all his powers and
faculties to, and concentration of aim and effort on, the instruction of
his class. Nothing in the nature of slipshod work was accepted from
the pupils. They had to give of their best and that best had to be
their own. The way, too, in which the student-teacher could hold
his ground in argument, if the criticisms passed upon his work and
his methods of teaching did not accord with his views, extorted the
admiration of his critics.
His pupil-teachership completed, McGregor entered Robert Gordon's
College. Here he not only followed the usual school course but at-
tended the classes and lectures conducted by the late Mr. J. C. Barnett,
Head Master of the Middle School, a man of most attractive person-
ality and possessing great natural aptitude as a popular lecturer on
scientific subjects. The experience then acquired bore fruit some
years later when at the request of Dr. Alexander Ogilvie he undertook
for two years the delivery of the Arnott Lectures. The course dealt
with Light and its relation to Photography, Sound and its relation to
Phonography, and proved a great success. This success was repeated
at a later date when he addressed the Philosophical Society on " Wire-
less Telegraphy". It required no little courage to give this lecture.
Wireless telegraphy was then only in its infancy and the apparatus at
the disposal of the lecturer was of the most meagre and unreliable de-
scription. Nevertheless McGregor's knowledge of the subject and " rare
patience " overcame all obstacles and the address enhanced his growing
reputation.
From Gordon's College McGregor passed in 1892 into the Church
of Scotland Training College, gaining first place in the list of entrants
at Aberdeen and being well up among the first ten for all Scotland.
His Training College course covered two years and at the end of both
sessions he stood first. His University course, which ran concurrently,
ended in 1896 and was equally brilliant. As already mentioned he
graduated with First Class Honours in Mathematics and Natural Phil-
osophy, and having to his credit, not to mention other successes, the
Boxill Prize, the first prizes in the Honours Classes of Mathematics
and Natural Philosophy, the first prize in Logic, and a good place in
Latin. Dr. Joseph Ogilvie, no mean judge, described him at this
period of his career as " a young man of rare gifts, and singularly
adapted for entering on a scholastic career". Mr. J. MacPherson
lo Aberdeen University Review
Wattie, H.M.C.I.S., then a lecturer in the Training College, is equally
emphatic in his testimony, noting amongst other things, *'his clear
and definite grasp of the fundamental physical notions " and " his
great readiness of resource and flexibility of mind in the solution of
problems ".
McGregor entered upon the next stage of his life in 1897 when he
was chosen to fill the post of Lecturer on Science and cognate sub-
jects in his old Training College as successor to his former teacher,
Mr. Wattie. Here he laboured for ten years, winning for himself a
high place in the respect and esteem of the managers of the College,
his colleagues, and students, and, as Dr. Ogilvie's right-hand man, doing
much to maintain and extend the name and fame of the Institution.
It was in the following year that I first made the acquaintance of
the future Master of Method, an acquaintance which soon ripened into
friendship. I remember well the impressions left upon my mind by
our first meeting. I was struck by the boyish appearance, the slim
figure carrying itself with an air of easy confidence and assurance, the
well-shaped, well-poised head, and the high, well-modelled forehead,
rarely absent in men with natural powers of intellect. The face in
repose appeared somewhat heavy, but when it was lighted up by a smile,
as it so often was, the same pleasing change happened as happens in
the case of some deep, dark pool in a river on being smitten by the sun
as it emerges from a cloud. The mouth was perhaps rather large,
parapeted below by a heavy underlip, indicating that when necessity
arose the owner could say distasteful things to friends as well as
opponents.
In 1907 when the Provincial Committee took over the manage-
ment of the two Training Colleges and of the students who were under
the care of the University Local Committee, McGregor was unani-
mously elected to be the first Master of Method. The post is one of
great responsibility and trust demanding the possession by the holder
of powers of a high order. This was especially the case at the start.
The Master of Method had to deliver a course of lectures on general
methods of teaching and school management, to organize a scheme of
lessons for the work of demonstration and experiment in connexion
with the school attached to the Training Centre, to map out a system
of continuous practice-in-teaching for the students in training in the
schools under the Board, and to arrange for the proper distribution of
the students to these schools. The difficulty of this task will be better
C.Q.M.S. Charles McGregor ii
appreciated if it is remembered that all this had to be done for some
500 students of all grades, including honoursmen seeking to qualify
as specialist teachers in Secondary Schools.
Those who have any acquaintance with what passes for treatises
and lectures on Methodology and School Management know that a
great deal of the matter consists of dreary excursions into deserts of
words with but few oases. Much of the treatment is pure linked
nothingness long drawn out. The many students who have passed
through McGregor's hands will bear me out when I say that his lec-
tures, far from being of this character, were models of lucidity, direct-
ness, and point, always stimulating and suggestive. The reason is not
far to seek. He had a clear, logical mind, the faculty of ready exposi-
tion, and, best of all, he brought into the lecture-room a mass of first-
hand knowledge gathered from observation and personal experience in
the schoolroom. Consequently his hearers felt they were under one
who not only knew his subject but could teach it, and benefited
accordingly.
The arrangements made for the school practice and its direction
and supervision by the Methods Staff were no less efficient. The re-
sult is all the more creditable when the attendant circumstances are
kept in mind. Your pedagogue, be he professor or schoolmaster, is
from the nature of his calling highly conservative in all that pertains
to his particular work, always inclined to glorify the past, and chary of
entertaining new ideas. He shares too with autocratic rulers the pre-
rogative of dogmatism. Now, the head-masters and class-teachers of
the schools attended by students for practice-in-teaching were in nearly
every instance products of the discarded pupil-teacher system. Many
of them, therefore, looked, naturally enough, with suspicion on the new
scheme, while some were inclined to treat it with undisguised misprision.
But the Master of Method was a man of tact as well as of discernment
and firmness. Further, he knew through and through the system that
was being supplanted. Hence the new arrangements, in spite of all
prejudices and prepossessions, were brought into operation with the
minimum of friction, and like Caesar's Arar, were soon flowing on
" incredibili lenitate ". This achievement must be considered, so far
as civil life is concerned, McGregor's crowning mercy. He was yet,
however, to prove himself worthy of his breed in another and totally
different capacity.
There came that fatal day two years ago when the Chancelleries of
12 Aberdeen University Review
Europe were stunned by Germany's declaration of war. In the know-
ledge of all the savageries and unnamable cruelties which from the
very outset characterized the conduct of the war by the arch-plotter in
the terrible calamity that has overtaken the world, can we wonder that
men of the most peaceable disposition were stung into immediate in-
dignation and the fixed determination to leave nothing undone to bring
the offenders to book ? From the first McGregor became strangely
restless. This agitation of mind came to a head after Kitchener's ap-
peal for volunteers to make up an army of 300,000 men. McGregor
had Celtic blood in his veins, and it is possible that the spirit inherited
from some far-off martial ancestor began to stir within him. No doubt,
too, he was strongly moved by the sentiment of nationality. I know,
moreover, that he was deeply disappointed by what he thought, and
perhaps wrongly thought, the somewhat lukewarm response in certain
quarters to the War Secretary's appeal. I was not greatly surprised,
therefore, when he burst into my room one morning in November, I
think, with the announcement that he had enlisted in Kitchener's Army
as a private. When I asked him why he had not applied for a com-
mission, he replied that not being physically robust he wished first to
test his fitness for the hardships of a soldier's life, and that in any case
his example in joining the colours as a private might have more effect
in inducing others situated like himself to do likewise. In a very few
days he had donned the khaki and was on his way to a camp in the
South of England.
His first winter, which was spent under very trying conditions of
weather and accommodation, must, as I gathered from his letters, have
taxed his health and keen temperament very severely. The habits of
living and modes of thought and speech of those with whom he was
thrown in contact were quite alien to all that he had hitherto been ac-
customed with. But he never chafed or fretted, never uttered a single
complaint. He " carried on " with a brave heart and a tenacity of
purpose beyond all praise. Then came the news that at last he was
to go to the front and face the Germans whom he had begun to hate
with a bitter hatred. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to the rank
of Quartermaster-Sergeant. Before leaving for France he came home
on furlough and expressed himself as highly delighted with the pro-
spect of seeing something of real active service. I had many letters
from him during the time he was in the fighting line, and I could see
how the iron of the terrible experiences he passed through there had
C.Q.M.S. Charles McGregor 13
entered into his soul. On the occasion of his last leave of absence he
seemed to me to have lost something of his former buoyancy of spirit.
He had, I feel sure now, a premonition that he would not return,
though he never said so. Yet in telling me about all he had seen and
done, so far as his modesty and his respect for military regulations
would allow him to do so, I observed that his mouth would still shut
with the old snap of determination so noticeable in former days when
any difficult situation had to be faced.
On the morning of Sunday, 14 May of this year, Charles McGregor
succumbed to a wound in the head inflicted by the bullet of a sniper.
What his loss meant to the officers and men of " M ** Company of the
loth Gordons may be best learned from a letter sent shortly after his
death to his brother in Aberdeen by Captain P. G. Longman, O.C, and
kindly placed at my disposal for the purpose of this sketch. The
Captain writes — " I was in command of * M ' Company only a short
time before he was hit, but even that time was sufficient to learn his
worth, his wisdom, and kindliness, and the great but quiet influence he
had with officers and men. I fell under his spell at once, and a grow-
ing affection for him — I speak quite truthfully — was already in my
heart when he was taken from us. The last time we spoke together
we discussed improvements in the Company 'Cooker,* and fixed
together on a plan for securing a meat-mincer on the shaft of the
cooker. The C.Q.M.S. took the greatest pride and interest in our
cooker, and in the feeding of the men, and many times we have dis-
cussed together bully-beef, stew and other cognate matters. If I may
be allowed to, I send you from myself and from the whole Company
our very deep sympathy in the sorrow that has come to you, but you
will, I am sure, be pleased to know what we all thought of him and
what he was to both officers and men in the Company. He cannot
be replaced and his death adds another to the list, already long, of
those rare and exceptional characters who have given their lives in
this struggle ; not in vain, however, for his memory and influence will
remain with me and with many out here for all time."
This is a testimony which, coupled as it can be with like testi-
monies about others of our fellow-countrymen who have fought their
last fight on the battle-fields in Flanders and elsewhere, justifies the
statement already made somewhere else that — "There is that in the
history of these two years which makes the heart brave and the mind
proud ' '. Bernhardi has told the world in his egregious book, * * Germany
14 Aberdeen University Review
and the Next W^ar," now so famous, that the centre of gravity of effec-
tiveness in war rests on the directing of operations and on the skilful
transition from strategical independence to combination of attack.
That may be true in the purely mechanical point of view. I venture
to submit, however, that " the centre of gravity " will be found in the
long run to lie more truly in the kind of spirit that drove men like
McGregor to leave their peaceful occupations and take up arms and
fight within a short time after their enlistment with as much steadiness
and dash as the carefully drilled and scientifically prepared soldiers of
Germany.
In conclusion, as we think of the tragic circumstances which mark
the death of Charles McGregor in the full tide of unexhausted powers
and future promise, of his unflinching courage, his single-minded de-
votion to duty, and his blameless life, may we not in all reverence
breathe for him the prayer breathed by the great philosopher-historian
Tacitus for his dead father-in-law Agricola in these beautiful words ? —
" Si quis piorum manibus locus, si, ut sapientibus placet, non cum cor-
pore extinguuntur magnae animae, placide quiescas, nosque ab infirmo de-
siderio et muliebribus lamentis ad contemplationem virtutum tuanim voces,
quas neque lugeri neque plangi fas est."
GEORGE SMITH.
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student.
II.
HERESOEVER young men are gathered together,
and particularly when they are assembled for doc-
trine, for reproof, and for instruction, they exhibit
a uniformity of type which the passage of the cen-
turies can vary only in its accidentals. Calverley,
revisiting Cambridge not very long after his own
undergraduate days, recognized this truth in the
last stanza of " Hie vir, hie est " :— -
When within my veins the blood ran,
And the curls were on my brow,
I did, oh ye undergraduates,
Much as ye are doing now.
Wherefore bless ye, O beloved ones : —
The benediction may be flung as far back as you please, without
any sense of incongruity, for the mediaeval student in all his phases,
grave and gay, is a person whose mentality appears neither strange
nor very remote to those who have spent together * ' the sunniest season
of life " in pursuit of knowledge, more or less, and of recreation to a
considerable extent. The spirit of the undergraduate is immortal in
its individuality, its idiosyncrasy. Well hath one of our own poets
sung
'Tis the maddest, most merry,
The saddest to bury,
The sunniest season of life.
As a matter of fact, it is hardly possible to bury that season. Inex-
orable time may and must demand that the ways of youth be laid
aside, for the pretty follies of college days are resumed by age only at
its peril, as witness the reverting tutor in a play once popular and ac-
ceptable, but now hardly to be mentioned, being of enemy origin.
The genial old man had tried to keep it up for a whole night with a
rollicking party of his pupils, only to fall pitiably asleep in their
1 6 Aberdeen University Review
midst somewhere towards the small hours. But if youth and its prac-
tice may not return, there is still a lawful reminiscent enjoyment of its
peculiar glamour, when, at reunions, we meet in after years to drive
down the sun in talk and fight the old battles over again in inter-
change of memories. For those hours, at least, the sunniest season
refuses burial.
And thus, as we count kin with the boys we were, we can, in the
records of the mediaeval student's works and days count kin with him
also, and feel, that without much difficulty, we could have fitted in with
his life and he with ours. There were disadvantages, to be sure, in
some of his personal habits, which not even his gifts in other respects
can render amiable or attractive, but he was not wholly unwashen,
although Mr. Lang, with a tear, notes that in the thirteenth century he
can find no tub in the rooms of any Oxford man. Yet the average, and
not the luxurious, man of that period could boast a laundress {lotrix\
and like his successor had reason to complain of her iniquities, which
left him short of shirts and brought her at length to the spinning
house. But there were, besides the average men, " bloods " in those
days too, who appointed themselves and their rooms finely and in-
curred the grave rebuke of the Statutes. Our moderate man, however,
lived and lodged very modestly, he had a bed worth fifteenpence and
a " cofer " valued at 2d. Like the men of later times who love to hang
up a shield bearing the college arms, and perhaps a foil or basket stick,
our friend had on his walls " a neat trophy of buckler, bow, arrows, and
two daggers," of which he made good practical use, practising archery
and sword and buckler in the afternoons, or even ''cutting" lecture
(fine for same, 2d.) to enjoy these sports earlier in the day. The exer-
cise had good practical use ; for town and gown rows were then no
mere affair of sticks and fists, but very warlike affrays, where the arrow
and the sword often let out gallant lives. For his intellectual armoury
a dozen books at most would be something of a possession. Chaucer's
Clerk with twenty was nobly furnished, as the times went ; for as we
know he was of the graver sort who spent his all on learning. There
is a point, suggestive, and worth a moment's attention for our present
purpose, in Chaucer's choice of a contrast to emphasize his Clerk's
studious preference. Books were to him more
Then robes riche, or fithele, or gay sawtrie.
The comparison is no mere flourish of random rhetoric, but a direct
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 17
allusion to the predilections of the gayer type of the mediaeval student,
to whom the viol, the psaltery, and a good song well sung were more
than "Aristotle and his philosophie ". Mindful of that type Mr. Lang,
in the passage already quoted, imagines his thirteenth-century student
caught up with the spirit of revelry and going to attend the feast of his
nation in the parish church. He ''comes forth a wonderful pagan
figure with a Bacchic mask " horned and with vine leaves and roses
stuck therein. He meets a merry company — " Henricus de Bourges,
and half a dozen Picardy men, with some merry souls from the southern
side of the Thames, are jigging down the High, playing bagpipes and
guitars ". They waltz into the church and in and out of the gateways
of the different halls, singing as they go.
The song which Mr. Lang, with obvious fitness, puts into the
mouth of his roysterers is the familiar
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
Vinum sit adpositum morientis ori,
Ut dicant, cum venerint, angelorum chori,
Deus sit propitius huic potatori,
and the form is that in which it is usually given as a genial piece of
Bacchanalian extravagance, quite wrongly attributed to Walter Map.
As a drinking song, the piece was constructed out of certain lines in
that furious satire on the corruption of the clergy, the ''Confessio Goliae,"
and many who used it convivially may have been quite ignorant of its
original purpose. It occurs in the " Carmina Burana," that wonderful
collection of wandering students' songs discovered in the monastery of
Benedictbeuern and now in Munich. The " Confessio," written between
1 161 and 1 164 at Pavia by the Archipoeta, whom the Goliards claimed
as their chief, gives the lines in question as follows : —
Meum est propositum
In taberna mori
Ubi vina proxima
Morientis ori ;
Tunc cantabunt laetius
Angelorum chori ;
Deus sit propitius
Isti potatori.
The immediately preceding stanza is, however, equally important
as a clue to the later form, for there we have a further hint for " ut
dicant, quum venerint, angelorum chori " : —
2
1 8 Aberdeen University Review
Tertio capitulo
Memoro tabernam.
Illam nuUo tempore
Sprevi, neque spernam.
Donee sanctos angelos
Venientes cernam,
Cantantes pro mortuis
" Requiem eternam".
But there is yet another form,^ quoted by the friar Salimbene of
Parma in his Chronicle (1284). There he puts the **Confessio" into
the mouth, not of the German Archipoeta, but of Primas, a free-Hving
canon of Cologne. This artist Brother Salimbene held in deep sus-
picion ; he admits that he was maxhnus versificator et veloxy but he adds
sententiously, si dedisset cor suum ad diligendum Dewn, magnus in liU
teratura Divina esset, et utilis valde Ecclesiae Dei. To him also Salim-
bene attributes the " Apocalypsis Goliae," which he may or may not
confuse with the " Confessio ". He represents the poem as the canon's
impromptu defence of his way of life, in reply to censure from the
Archbishop of Cologne. Now the " Confessio " is said to have been
dedicated to Reginald of Dassel, Barbarossa's chancellor, Archbishop of
Cologne, by the unnamed German Archipoeta. Had it been possible
to identify Salimbene's Primas with the earlier French Goliard Primas,
otherwise Magister Hugo of Orleans, this attribution might have led us
to suspect that the choicest Goliardic songs are perhaps not so purely
Teutonic in their origin as the Teuton labours to prove. But Dr. W.
Meyer sternly forbids us to associate Salimbene's Primas with Master
Hugo, whence probably Dr. Breul, in his recent magnificent edition of
" The Cambridge Songs," that delightful MS. collection of Goliardic
verse, makes no mention of Salimbene's Primas, although he identifies
the Orleans master with the Goliard Primas. It is, however, worthy of
remark that the unnamed German Archipoeta and Salimbene's Primas
should both address the " Confessio " to an Archbishop of Cologne.
Further, it is admitted that the great Unknown wrote the " Confessio "
* The most interesting variants in Salimbene's version are —
Ut sint vina proxima
Morientis ori,
and
Tunc occurrent citius angelorum chori,
Sit Deus propitius, mihi peccatori.
Perhaps we have here a version of the satire older than that in the Carraina Burana.
"Mihi peccatori" may well have been the original which suggested "potatori" to the
parodist author of the drinking song.
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 19
at Pavia, and that he sang many of his songs on Itah'an soil before the
Chancellor Reginald and the Emperor Frederic II. How so great a
certainty arises that the author was a German is not quite clear, except
on the same grounds on which Shakspere is written down a Teuton.
The Frenchman, Master Hugo, although known as Primas, must not be
regarded as Salimbene's Primas, for that might hint at authorship of the
** Confessio " by one of Latin race, which would never do. The ques-
tion is intriguing, and the German certainty of German origin entirely
characteristic. It would be unjust to call it disingenuous, but in
the light of the Teuton's recent arrogation to himself of all perfec-
tion, one grows a little sceptical. Such a suspicion was in the mind
of a recent writer in the " Athenaeum," when he remarked that even
granting that the most of the Goliardic songs were composed on Ger-
man soil, that is no argument against the wider view that they are to
be regarded as ** links in the living chain of Latin poetry which sur-
vived from classical times until far in the Middle Ages". The re-
flection certainly qualifies the view that would claim these lyrics as the
first fruits of German poetry. If only the German Archipoeta could
have been named ! Salimbene, the Italian of Parma, must have had
some reason for supposing that Primas wrote the Confessio^ but, say
the Teuton scholars, this Primas was not Master Hugo, the famous
French Goliard. But even if we let the '* Confessio " go as a German's
work, there remains the great body of Goliardic song, abounding in
beauties which that poem does not possess, beauties of natural feeling
and the joy of the open air and the countryside and fragrant with the
breath of spring, characteristics which suggest the close kinship of those
lyrics with the pre-Renaissance troubadour poetry of Provence wherein
Frederic II was so enthusiastic an amateur. The mediaeval student
sang often with all the early Southern trouv^re's lightness and grace
and passion. France and Italy must at least have had a word to say
in his making.
Tempus instat floridum,
Cantus crescit avium,
Tellus dat solatium,
Eia, qualia
Amoris gaudia t ^
He was an Epicurean, three centuries before a quickened interest
in classical antiquity taught the Italians an elegant affectation of the
* " Carmina Burana," 88.
20 Aberdeen University Review
more sensuous paganism, and if he had little or no Greek, he knew his
mythology and could use it deftly in his songs. For him the lamp of
ancient learning still burned, not with its full flame, perhaps, but suffi-
ciently bright to make his path through the so-called ** Dark Ages " a
pilgrimage of joy. Sometimes, being but young and foolish, he went
astray and lost himself in merely wanton song, sometimes he was a
blackguard, naked and unashamed, but there is enough of gracious-
ness, of serious purpose in his lyrics to redeem the Goliard from utter
depravity. And he could put his studies before amorous adventure,
when he sang wholeheartedly
Malui Virgilium
Quam te sequi, Paris.
Poor, he could celebrate his poverty in a Franciscan spirit and beg
those at whose doors he sang not to think that his need was the result
of evil-living. Ridicule wounded him to tears: —
Poorer I than all the band
Of my poet brothers,
Naught of gear have I in hand
Richer than another's ;
All I have you see ; my tears
Start, as oft you scorn me ;
Prithee think not wasted years
To this want have borne me ! ^
And in another song he epitomizes the sorrows of the poor scholar : —
Exile I for learning's sake
Born to be a toiler,
Manifold the ills I take,
Slave to want, the spoiler.
O'er my books with studious care
Fain would I be bending ;
But a fortune all too bare
Of that dream makes ending.
All too meanly clad I go,
Thin my coat and meagre,
Shivering oft, no warmth I know.
When the frost is eager.'*
Too shabby to go to church, he continues : —
Ne'er to lauds of holy cheer
Voice may I be lending ;
Nor of mass or vespers hear
Their melodious ending.
> C.B., cxciv., trans. J. D. S. "C.B., xci., trans. J. D. S.
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 21
He now prays his good patron to enable him of his charity to obtain
suitable garments. (Did Luther sing this at Frau Cotta's door?): —
Rival then, St. Martin's mind,
Aid, like him, a claimant :
For my pilgrim body find
Some small gift of raiment.
So may God your soul uplift
To the starry regions,
There to share His glorious gift
With the blessed legions I
It is a curious and rather comical point, significant of the poor
scholar's thrifty mind, that his song contained a blank in one stanza
(here left untranslated) to enable him to fit in some complimentary and
appropriate allusion to his immediate patron's condition. It is filled
in the MS. with " N," the familiar " N or M " of the Church Catechism.
Surely this is poetical mendicancy raised to the Universal.
In that song we have a type such as Chaucer's Clerk of Oxenford,
who —
. . . Lokede holwe, and thereto soberly.
Ful thredbare was his overeste courtepy
But all that he mighte of his frendes hente,
On bookes and on lernyng he it spente.
And busily gan for the soules preye
Of hem that yaf him wherewith to scholeye.
How ardent the more serious sort was in the pursuit of learning,
as the lighter-witted race was in the pursuit of pleasure, can be learned
from those charming autobiographical fragments (pity that they are so
few !) which John of Salisbury has introduced into his " Metalogicus "
and " Polycraticus ". He gives us a glimpse not only of his college but
of his school days. He went first to a priest to learn his psalms,
perhaps by way of preparatory school, before he entered the usual
Cathedral School, where a large part of the instruction was in the
choral services of the Church. With the priest, who was a sad rascal,
he had a curious experience, for the fellow used the boy to help him
in practising divination {artem speculariam), perhaps a form of crystal
gazing, or the familiar trick of ink poured into the palm. He used
other (and rather noisome) accessories of necromancy, for which young
John had no respect. He saw them merely as they were, would admit
no supernatural transformations in the unholy gear, and came out of
the unpleasant ordeal unscathed, as a decent-minded boy would. The
priest gave him up as a bad job, to his great relief It is a delightful
22 Aberdeen University Review
touch, proving that the great mediaeval scholar-to-be was own brother
to the best type of British schoolboy in our own day, a creature open-
eyed and fearless ; a keen detector and censor of humbug. A few
years later he appears as the student in excelsis^ untiring in the pursuit
of learning. In 1136, at the age of 21 {adolescens admoduni)^ he mi-
grated to Paris and betook himself to Abelard (Peripateticus Pala-
tinus), "that illustrious doctor, who was then installed on the hill of
St. Genevieve, to the admiration of all. There, at his feet, I received
the first rudiments of his teaching, and according to the measure of
my slender ability, I took in, with a mind wholly greedy, everything
that fell from his lips." ^ Then, on Abelard's departure, he went to Al-
beric ^ for Dialectic, and heard the case against the Nominalists. At the
same time he attended the lectures of Robert of Melun,an Englishman
who had earned his title Meludensis, as principal of the school in that
town. John had a keen young eye for the qualities of his masters,
whom he sums up in a few terse phrases. Alberic was nothing if not
controversial, and most meticulously disputatious — locum quaestionis
invenit ubique, says his pupil : there was nothing so smoothly plain
but he would find there some little stumbling-block, and, as they say,
even a bulrush was not smooth to him.^ For even there he used to
point out knots to be removed. Robert, on the other hand, excelled
in ready replies, never, for the sake of evasion, declining a proposition,
but ever seeking to bring out the contradictory, or to teach, when the
many-headed discourse was finished, that there was not one answer
alone. Alberic, then, was in questions subtle and abounding, Robert in
answers clear, brief, and to the point. John goes on to regret that
his two masters did not pursue physical science, in which he held
they would have been very distinguished. With them he remained for
two years, believing that he had got their elementary teaching at his
finger-ends. He revises that opinion later, however, with the frank
confession that in the youthful lightness of his heart, he had valued
his knowledge higher than it deserved. He thought himself a bit of
a scholar because in the subjects on which he had attended lectures he
was " well up " (J>romptus). Evidently our good John had " ground his
notes " diligently and mistook that for the whole of knowledge. This
failing is not unknown in later times. A period of self-examination
1 " Metalogicus," 11. 10. a Of Rheims.
* Cf. Ennius (quoted by Festus), ♦• quaerunt in scirpo, soliti quod diccre, nodum," and
Plaut, •• Mcnaechmi," 2, i, 22, also Terence, •♦ Andria," 5, 4, 38.
\
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 23
followed, and mistrusting his own powers, by the good grace of his
teachers, he went to the grammarian, Willelmus de Conchis at Chartres,
whose lectures he attended for three years. There he read further and
" will never regret that time ". A little later he follows after Bishop
Richard,^ a man of almost universal learning, one who had more mind
than tongue, more knowledge than eloquence, more truth than conceit,
more virtue than ostentation. With him he revises all his former studies,
and takes up certain subjects of the quadrivium^ which he had not yet
tackled, although he had gone so far in that curriculum with the
German Hardewin. He read again also his Rhetoric in which formerly
he had done a little with Theodoric,^ but with very slight understand-
ing. Later he had it more fully from Peter Helias. "And since I
had taken in hand to instruct the children of some nobles who were
affording me sustenance, God thus assuaging my poverty (bereft as I
was of the help of friends and relations), by the needs of my office and
the requirements of my young pupils, I was moved to recall rather
frequently to mind what I had learned." He therefore made friends
with Master Adam,^ a man of the keenest genius, who was above all
devoted to Aristotle. John was very loyal to a kind friend. He
flings off a defiant little parenthetical defence of Adam, who evidently
had enemies. " Whatever others may think, Adam was most variously
learned." He was reputed to suffer from jealousy, but John at least
found him generous. ** Although 1 did not have him formally as
teacher, he kindly allowed me to participate in his learning and ex-
pounded himself to me with considerable frankness, a thing he did to
no outsider or to very few." At the same time he received the ele-
ments of Logic from Willermus of Soissons. Thereafter narrow means,
the request of his comrades, and the advice of his friends tore him away
from his studies to take up teaching. Three years passed and he re-
turned to attend Master Gilbert * for Logic and Divinity. Gilbert re-
moved too soon for John's liking, and was succeeded by Robert Pullus.
Thereafter he was received by Simon of Poissy, trustworthy as a
lecturer, but less keen in disputation. So twelve years (or ten, if we
read decenniuniy as is suggested) were profitably spent, and John re-
turned to Paris, " for it seemed a pleasant thing to revisit my old com-
panions whom I had left behind and whom the study of Dialectic still
1 Richard I'Eveque. » Brother of Bernard of Chartres.
•Adam du Petit Pont.
* Gilbert de la Porr^e, formerly Chancellor of the Cathedral School at Chartres.
24 Aberdeen University Review
detained on the Hill of St. Genevieve. They compare notes, some-
what pedantically, to discover how much progress they have made.
John decides that his friends are not out of the bit, except in one par-
ticular dedicerant modum, modestiam nesciebant. After many efforts I
despair of rendering the happy pun, as John despaired of his friends'
improvement. He was turned, perhaps, a trifle too sententious : one
would have liked some more genial glimpse of that learned reunion,
some touch of that happy conviviality which marked in later times the
farewell supper of Etienne Dolet and his friends of the Lyons press,
but the gravity of that earlier conference has its own charm. It re-
calls in its austerity that exquisite fresco on the staircase of the
Sorbonne where the Angelical Doctor is portrayed in earnest discourse
with his disciples. They linger in a sunny garden under the early
light of a spring day, and through thin trees, as yet scarcely sprung
into full foliage, you catch a distant glimpse of the Hill of Genevieve,
its buildings gleaming white in the crystal air of Paris. Almost a
century, it is true, divides Aquinas from John of Salisbury, but the
symbol of that early world of the intellect may stand for both. The
life of even the severest students was never lacking in its gentle and
joyous passages. For through the ages the watchword of the student
has been, in greater or less degree, Gaudeamus. Sometimes it touched
the pitch of roystering, sometimes it remained on that quieter level of
happiness which comes from work faithfully accomplished even amid
hardship and penury, but always with the solace of good comradeship,
common interests, and the stimulus of youth.
At what point the joyous impulse of the student found formal ex-
pression in one famous song will never perhaps be decided. Much
learned research has been busy about the origin of the " Gaudeamus,"
but no man can trace its actual documentary history beyond the year
1776. The tune has been traced to 1768. The words were known
at the beginning of the eighteenth century. That it originated so late
is hardly to be believed. Even Pernwerth von Baernstein, its most
sceptical critic, does not hesitate to claim it for a Goliard or one of the
Goliardic following, and he is willing to believe that in one form or
another it had been sung by generation after generation of students.
He disposes of the story which attributes it to Dominicus Strada of
Bologna, a student of the sixteenth century. He also denies that it
was sung at a Heidelberg festival in honour of the learned Olympia
Morata. That it developed from the '* Gaudeamus " of church music is
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 25
sufficiently probable. Almost the first entry in Becker's list of early
music is a *' Gaudeamus " by the fifteenth-century composer Josquin des
Pr^s,^ included among his masses. With these, however, are certain
secular pieces, and the entry, lighted upon in the British Museum,
aroused a trembling curiosity as to the precise form of this "Gaudeamus'*
But the German printed edition of Josquin's musical remains omits,
for some unknown reason, this one piece. In the present state of the
world Josquin's MSS. are not accessible, nor can questions be asked
in the quarters likely to be most fruitful.
Aberdeen first heard of the song in 1857, when "The Student"
printed a leading article on German student corps, describing a funeral
with torches and bonfires. There the first verse of the song is quoted.
The article was probably indebted to William Howitt's " The Student
Life of Germany " (1841), where the song and music are given together
with an elaborate description of a student's funeral by torchlight.
The next ascertainable reference in general literature occurs in " Notes
and Queries" for 12 September, 1868, p. 250, where an inquirer
quotes a version somewhat different from that in general use among
our students. Four stanzas only were given. The first contains the
variant : —
Absoluta juventute,
In molesta senectute.
The second and third stanzas are well known, but not sung by our
Choral Society : —
Ubi sunt qui ante nos, in mundo fuere ?
Transeas ad superos,*
Abeas ad inferos,
Hos si vis videre.
Vita nostra brevis est, brevi finietur.
Mors venit velociter
Rapit nos atrociter
Neminem veretur.
The fourth is less familiar, harsh, coarse, and probably spurious : —
Accipe vitreolum boni Bacchi, bibe,
Bibe salutiferum,
Bibe plenum poculum
Ad sanitatem vitae.
^ Josquin (Josse) was of Dutch origin. He was esteemed at the courts of the Medic
an d Duke Ercole of Ferrara.
' Howitt gives : —
Vadite ad superos,
Transite ad inferos,
Ubi jam fuere.
26 Aberdeen University Review
On 12 December, 1868, " Notes and Queries" printed a fuller version
almost identical with our textus receptus.
The chief variants are " pocula sunt nulla " for " Nos habebit
humus," the omission of " dulces et amabiles " and the repetition (twice)
of " vivant et mulieres ". The "ubi sunt " and " vita nostra" verses
also appear, together with the academic, loyal, and gallant stanzas, but
*' Accipe vitreolum " is omitted. The version was contributed by
Francis Robert Davies, who adds a note on the use of the song at corps
funerals by torchlight, and also on its festal use. It was sung by the
Berlin students at the reception of the Princess Royal on her marriage.
Mr. Davies did not make J. A. Symonds's neat point (see " V^ine, Women
and Song"), regarding "igitur," otherwise difficult. The tacit thought
is purely Epicurean on the part of the mourners. " Our brother is
laid to rest, therefore let us rejoice while we are young." Thus Pistol,
on Falstaff departing — " Let us condole the knight, for, lambkins, we
will live ". But for this good reason, critics might insist on regard-
ing " Ubi sunt qui ante nos " as the real opening stanza, for which
there is no warrant. The ** igitur " arising from silent reflection is the
more telling.
Three more variants given by Baernstein may (for convenience) be
noted here : —
(a) " Post amoenam juventutem " for " post jucundam ".
(y9) " Nemini parcetur" for " Neminem veretur".
(7) " Tenerae amabiles " for " dulces et amabiles ".
On 23 January, 1869, "Notes and Queries " added to the inquiry.
*' The able and earnest Lutheran minister at Hull, Rev. Johann Bober-
tag," contributed a Greek version sung at Erlangen, where, he remarked,
they have also a translation into Hebrew I The Greek (of Dr. Gelbe)
is as follows. He quite loses igitur \ —
^\.\oi cirdvfic^/icda,^ veavlai SvrfS,
trov fifflv, ot yrph rifiwy 4v K6<r/j.(() yivovro ;
fialvfTf els ovpav6v, tpx^o-df tls rdprapoy
avTov 4yhovTO.
$ios iivBp(ifrtev $paxis, t(£x« rcKivriia-fi •
Bdyaros i<plirrarai /col rjfxas i<f>4\Kerai •
rlyos i)U«M<r«t;
Cfirw *AKaSr})xla, iiddffKoyTfs C^yrwy.
^ Misprinted in •• Notes and Queries " as 9v6v<bnf9oi.
Sidelights on the Mediaeval Student 27
kit hiKfia^dvruv,
(wfv iraffai trapOfvoi, i/tifpral, y\vKe7ai •
(wfy iraffai d^Aemt, airaAal Kal irpuKTiKal*
hy^pdaiv TjieTai.
("flTw Kol. iro\irfia, fiaaiKfvs re (-firu •
("flTw Kal ir6\is Tificov Ka\ x^P^^ Kri^ffjiSyuyy
iras eraTpos ("ftrw.
Ximi 8^ iiiroWiffdco, <pBiv4rw /xiffrjT'fis •
(pBiy^TW iid$o\os, fKaffros niffd5€\<pos
Kal KaTa<ppoyr)r-fis.
The version is given here merely as a curiosity. It is ingenious, if
not beautiful. The accentual rhythms have occasionally to be forced
to " humour the verses " into the tune ; but, on the other hand, some-
times the despised and neglected Alexandrian accents tell with a value
and force that must have delighted Blackie, who can hardly have es-
caped knowing Gelbe's lines. But we digress shamefully.
Our University Choral Society's Concert of 1876 saw the intro-
duction of the " Gaudeamus " by Mr. Meid, and since then it has held
the place of honour in every programme. The song at once became
known even beyond University circles, and I can witness that it was
handed about in MS. among the curious in such things.
In 1894 " Notes and Queries " is again interested, and on 30 June,
in answer to a recent query as to the origin of " Gaudeamus," reference
is made to the versions printed long before, and a new note (the most
valuable of three) advises the reader to consult P. von Baernstein.
That note is signed P. J. Anderson, and sends the inquirer straight to
the most exhaustive information. Our Northern University was con-
tent with no cursory interest in the great song which had by that time
been for eighteen years very closely interwoven with our academic life.
When England asked for guidance, Aberdeen was on the spot with
chapter and verse.
In the absence of evidence, it is impossible to prove that " Gaude-
amus," as we know it, is mediaeval. But its mediaeval origin is be-
yond doubt and the inspiration certain. Many passages from the
**Carmina Burana" breathe the same spirit, and there are verbal simi-
larities, although nothing approaching a version. Some might count
that damning evidence against the antiquity of the song. Not all
the accepted version, however, is manifestly very old. The loyal
verses can hardly be other than rather modern. They are too near
akin to the song in honour of August of Saxony (1763) in style and
2 8 Aberdeen University Review
sentiment. But there may have been contra-accounts. For the
iater song contains a sure echo of " Gaudeamus " in the lines
Vivant nostri socii
Pereant contrarii.
The original is lost for ever, and what we possess is more than likely
of various dates. With the ** Carmina Burana " and kindred songs in
mind, one would be inclined to regard as the kernel of the song (or
closely related to the kernel) the stanzas beginning : —
Gaudeamus igitur . . .
Ubi sunt qui ante nos . . .
Vita nostra brevis est . . .
Pereat tristitia. . . .
Perhaps the " vivant omnes virgines " may be older also, and
•may have led to the addition of the political and academic verses.
The academic is even less mediaeval than the *' vivat et respublica," for
**Academia" and " Professores " are later usages, post-Renaissance
certainly. But in the stanzas indicated as possibly very near the irre-
coverable original, we have something that no mere imitator could
liave written. The more it is studied the more the " Gaudeamus " seems
the inevitable inspiration of the Mediaeval Student, not of one indi-
vidual, perhaps, but of that immortal spirit of youth whereof he was
the secular embodiment.
J. D. SYMON.
The Wife on the War.
The wifie was thrang wi' the coggin' o' caur,
An' makin' new cheese an' the yirnin' o't,
But when the guidman loot a wird aboot war
She fairly got on to the girnin' o't.
" Deil birst them," quo' she, " I would pit them in jyle
Oonless they gie owre wi' the killin' o't.
We've wantit bear-meal for oor bannocks this fyle,
There's nane left to leuk to the millin' o't.
An' bide ye, ye'll see, gin this fechtin' bauds on
The hale quintra side will be ruein' o't.
There's nae teucher ley than oor ain on the Don
An' fa's gyaun to tackle the plooin' o't?
They chairge noo for preens, an' the merchants mainteen.
That naething but war is the rizzen o't,
Dyod ! the nation that winna lat ithers aleen
Deserves a lang knife in the wizzen o't.
But it blecks me to see fat it maitters to hiz
Gin Kaiser or Tsar hae the wytin' o't.
Gin the tane taks a tit at the tither chiel's niz
Need we hae a han' at the snytin' o't ?
Syne see the fite siller on papers ye spen'.
The time that ye connach at readin' o't,
Wi' specs on, ye hunker for 'oors upon en',
The wark's left to me an' the speedin' o't."
The aul' man is kittle, he raise on the runt —
" Ye jaud, wi' your tongue an' the clackin' o't^
Were ye whaur I wish — in a trench at the front —
Nae German would stamach the takin' o't.
I tell ye, ye beesom, oonless 'at oor loons
Oot yonner can gie them a lickin' o't,
They'll Ian' i' their thoosans an' blaw doon oor toons^
An' start to the stealin' an' stickin' o't.
30 Aberdeen University Review
Syne, Lord ! I can see ye, gyaun doon the neep dreels,
Wi' barely a steek for the happin' o't.
An' a lang soople sodger that's hard at your heels
Wi' a dirk i' your ribs for the stappin' o't.
They'll nail your twa lugs to the muckle mill door.
Like a futtrat that's come to the skinnin' o't,
An' thraw your deucks' necks an' mak' broth o' your caur —
Pit that on your reel for the spinnin' o't."
" Haud, baud," quo' the wifie, "ye* re fleggin' us a',
Come haiste ye, gin that be the meanin' o't,
Rax doon the aul' gun fae the crap o' the wa*,
It's time ye set on to the cleanin' o't —
Ye aye were right deidly at doos an' at craws.
An' skeely at Yeel at the sheetin' o't —
Gie me syne the chapper, we'll fell them in raws;
An' leave them sma' brag o' the meetin' o't.
Gin mornin' was come, seen as ever it's licht
Sen' Rob to the sergeant for dreelin' o't,
An' the deemie will start wyvin' mittens the nicht,
I've a stockin* mysel' at the heelin' o't.
An' noo jist to cantle oor courage a bit.
An' haud the hairt stoot in the bodie o't,
Fesh oot the black pig, there's a drap in her yet,
An' I'll get the teels to mak' toddy o't."
CHARLES MURRAY.
Schools and Schoolmasters.
Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona
multi ; sed omnes illacrimabiles
urgentur ignotique longa
nocte, carent quia vate sacto.
— Hor. C. IV., 9.
^N the fast waning light of a short November day-
last year it happened to me to stand with a few
chosen friends beside an open grave where we re-
verently laid the remains of a well-loved friend and
revered teacher to rest among his kindred in the
lone churchyard of Kirkmichael. Some of us were
kinsmen, some were the friends of his boyhood,
and some of us knew him only in later life, but we were all of us knit
together in our common regard for Dr. William Dey. I was one of
those who knew him only in his later years, for I was not his contem-
porary, and I had not the inestimable privilege of being one of his
pupils in the old Grammar School. Yet I knew him perhaps better
than most, for, in the last twenty years of his life at least, I had by
degrees been admitted to a closer intimacy with the man than most
could claim.
It is not my purpose here to attempt any appreciation of Dr. Dey's
transcendent merits as a teacher or of the inspiring influence which he
exercised over the hundreds of lads who came to him from all parts of
the North of Scotland, even from the uttermost isles, and crowded the
narrow limits of the " old barn ". That work has been undertaken
by others more competent, who have done it in the pages of this
Review more ably and with greater insight than I can claim. I should
add this tribute, however, that I believe that my own career in teach-
ing has been, I hope, to quite an^appreciable degree, coloured by the
example of Dr. William Dey. In all my time I have owed willing
allegiance to three men whom I have known and honoured as the
32 Aberdeen University Review
three great teachers of my time. William Dey was one, James Grant,
late of Keith, was another, and the third was my own predecessor,
Alexander Ogilvie. That there should have been at one time three
such vital forces influencing the education of the North- East of Scot-
land has been a great good fortune. Not only did these three men
in themselves do great things for education, but in the fulness of time
they sent out hundreds of ardent workers who have since as teachers
kept alive the spirit of their early masters. It is perhaps to be re-
gretted that these three great men have left behind them hardly a word
of written record of what they did and of what they thought through-
out the strenuous years in which they devoted themselves with mis-
sionary zeal to their work, but perhaps after all the most eloquent
record is their work. The three of them were invincibly shy men and
positively shrank from platform appearances. For many a long year
William Dey's life was to outward appearance that of a recluse. His
work and his collateral reading absorbed his whole time and thought,
and his whole life may be taken as an example of stern unwavering
adherence to duty and a tireless tracing of the path that he had marked
out for himself.
At that solemn ceremonial in the little churchyard in his native
glen a thought occurred to me that there was something akin between
the spirit of the man and the spirit that seemed to reign at the time
over and about his last resting-place. A spirit of solemnity, almost of
austerity, seemed to pervade the scene. The little churchyard of
Kirkmichael lies lonely among the hills. On every side rise hills,
every footstep of which he knew, and they were covered almost to
their base with the first snows of winter, their summits shrouded in
snow-laden clouds. The stripped birches fringing their bases swayed
and sighed in a low winter wind, and near by the river sang a requiem.
Yet withal there was a sense of serenity, of grandeur, and I felt that
the scene was a fitting one in which to pay the last tribute to one
whose life had, as many might think, been led largely apart, and
whose soul had dwelt among things severe and grand. The church-
yard is a place of great antiquity — the burial ground of the district for
centuries — and the gravestones bear evidence to the nature of the
people. A stout, sturdy stock and valiant they must have been, and
far-faring. Here you read the brief record of a Gordon who was with
Wellington through the Peninsula and who rose to the rank of Lieu-
tenant-General, here of his brother who fought at Waterloo, here of a
Schools and Schoolmasters 3J
Grant who was in Moore's great retreat, there of a Middleton who fell
"leading the Grenadiers of the 33rd Regiment to victory at the
memorable battle of Salamanca," of Macgregor brothers who fell
fighting, one at Monte Video, the other in the East Indies, while over
there lies a Cameron of the Hudson Bay Company's Service* 'who
spent fifteen years of his life in the Wilds of North America, beloved
by the red man and the white ". William Dey rests among his peers
in that remote Highland glen.
I cannot but think that his life to its very close bore the impress
of the stern grandeur of his home among the hills with their silence
and their steadfastness, tinged too perhaps it was with some faint
colouring of cloud and shadow that is seldom wanting in the Celtic
inheritance. In the busy strenuous years of his career — and they
were many — he seldom, if ever, reverted to early days and early scenes,,
but as the shadows lengthened he seemed to stray again among the
glens and by the streams that in sixty years he had rarely revisited.
Resolutely had he fared forward in these long years, turning neither
to right nor to left from the chosen road, finding ever a worthy task —
some clearly defined call which it was his duty to obey, doing with his
might whatsoever his hand found to do. Such was his nature indeed
that no matter how poor the self-appointed task might seem to un-
seeing eyes it became his one absorbing thought, a piece of noblest
work to be carried out with infinite care. One naturally associates
William Dey with the Grammar School of Old Aberdeen and with
that alone. Yet he gave only seventeen years of his long life to that
school. But what years they were ! The backbone of every Uni-
versity Arts Class was the "old barn" contingent. And what men
they were ! They had learned from William Dey what work really
meant, and from him they had learned to distinguish the clarion call
of duty and to answer to the call. He was thirty-five years of age
when he took over the Old Grammar from his friend and country-man,
Cosmo M. Grant, and at fifty-two he handed it over to his younger
friend and distinguished pupil, William T. Fyfe.
His eye was not dimmed nor his natural force abated, and it was
not to be expected that his hand should remain long idle. With Dey
the interests of education were ever paramount, and to educational
affairs he instinctively turned. One can imagine with what zeal he
entered the School Board, but those who knew him can readily imagine
that a closer acquaintance dissolved the charm. Rosebery's "lonely
3
34 Aberdeen University Review
furrow" was more to the mind of the stem selfless enthusiast. Much
more congenial to him were the educational affairs of the Highlands
and Islands Trust. Here he was in his element. Highlands and
Highlanders were an open book to him. He knew them as his kins-
folk and he knew how to deal with them. The work he made his
own, and with characteristic thoroughness he traversed the counties of
the north and west and the outer isles, seeing for himself, judging
for himself, and mayhap thinking of his own early days spent in simi-
lar scenes. His scheme of education he elaborated with his wonted
care and thoroughness and its every detail was worked out by him
beyond the possibility of error. The Dick Bequest was another sub-
ject in which he took a deep interest, and the two Trusts gave him a
direct and personal knowledge of the educational affairs of the whole
of the North of Scotland to which few, if any, can ever have ventured
to lay claim. His University, too, occupied much of his time and
thoughts. I doubt if any, even of his most intimate friends, quite
realized for what the Aberdeen University stood to him. It was the
beacon light that had flared far out but never beyond the ken of his
boyish eyes, the goal of his early manhood, the gateway to the whole
of his future career — his life's work. The last dozen years and more
of his working life Dey gave up almost wholly to the great subject of
the training of teachers. He did highly appreciated work in connexion
with King's students, and when Provincial Committees were established
he became the first Chairman of the Aberdeen Committee, a post which
he held for two terms. Whether the new arena and the new conditions
suited his peculiar type of genius may be a matter of opinion, but
there can be only one opinion as to the unselfish devotion which he
bestowed upon the work of the Committee. This was to be his last
work. The inconquerable will was there, but the advance of time was
not to be stayed. To the end his interest in educational matters never
waned and his last thoughts were with the University. The University
was to him a sign, a symbol. It was not merely an abode of learning, it
was the scene of lofty thought and high endeavour, the hall-way to the
world's work and a career of usefulness. To him it meant even more.
He knew that the Aberdeen University was rooted in the soil of the
North Country. He had himself known its magic spell. He knew
that in the remotest glens and clachans the name of the Aberdeen
University was familiar as a household word. He knew, none better,
what a potent force the University was in calling forth youthful effort
Schools and Schoolmasters 35
and in firing youth's just ambition. I think that towards the end he
dwelt not infrequently on the days when the goal of his hopes, the
• object of his every aspiration, was the Aberdeen University. From
William Dey's early home to the University the road was neither wide
nor smooth. It was a steep road, stony and shelterless, and seemingly
endless. Had it been other he would probably never have chosen it.
It would certainly not have appealed to him. The primrose way could
never have been his way. The broad levels were not to his mind, he
loved the upward road and the farther outlook from successive hill
tops.
Such was the man William Dey whom I knew, and as such I
revered him greatly. Of his life's work from the time that he graduated
in 1 86 1, that is for a period of well over fifty years, the story is at
least fairly well known as tar as teaching and public work arc concerned,
but he was twenty-two years of age when he entered the University in
1857, and it must have been in these early years that his sensitive
nature became deeply impressed by influences that laid the foundations
of his character and made him the man he was. First, and perhaps
chief, among these influences must have been that of his father who by
all accounts must have been a most remarkable man. Three sons be-
came graduates of Aberdeen University, and the name of James Dey
in the list of University prizes is their way of acknowledging their ap-
preciation of the man he was. Another influence that must have
affected Dey very strongly must be sought in the educational traditions
and spirit of his native glen. When I mention that on a memorable
occasion Dey and I put together a list of sixty-six men belonging to
that glen and personally known to one or other or both of us who had
become University graduates, it will be readily admitted that there
must have been a tradition and an example that could not fail to in-
spire. In the absence of direct written record it is difficult to say what
influences were at work to create in a remote and by no means densely
peopled district so keen an enthusiasm in the cause of learning.
Doubtless something was due to the native temperament of the people
themselves and to the conditions of their life. That they were an alert,
intelligent race there can be no doubt, that they found the narrow con-
fines of their mountain home too limited a sphere for their energies is
a guess that may be safely hazarded. It is certain that in the days
when Napoleon assailed the liberties of Europe, a very considerable
number of young men from the district sought and found distinction
36 Aberdeen University Review
in their country's service. Their names are mostly now forgotten, and
the record of their service and their prowess has died with the Gaelic
speech which in those days was the vernacular of the glen. It may
be that in the days of peace that followed, the restless youth of Kirk-
michael had their energies turned in another direction, and that they
recognized that the way to the University was at least one avenue to
distinction in the outside world. But who were the pioneers ?
In my time and for long before it there were two schools in the
parish, which would appear ample in view of the population. But the
schools were not so accessible as might appear. The glen is long and
narrow, and through its whole length runs the Avon from its snowy
sources in the Cairngorms. Three side valleys of considerable size,
each drained by a tributary stream, open out into the valley proper,
and each glen had its quota of boys and girls of school age. One of
the two schools — properly the parish school of Kirkmichael, but locally
known as Tomachlaggan school — is towards the north end of the parish
about a mile from the parish church ; the other and larger school is in
the village of Tcmintoul. Both are on the east side of the Avon, which
in all the long length of the parish used to be bridged by only one stone
bridge. Other bridges there would have been, but frail, and often
swept away by the wild stream in winter flood. Now take young
Dey's case. His home was in one of the side glens referred to. When
he set out for school in the dim dawn of a winter morning he was
faced by a journey of three miles, chiefly by a hill track, and his first
barrier was an exceptionally turbulent mountain stream to be crossed
by a crazy plank, unless the plank had gone down stream in a night
flood. Two miles farther on ran the Avon, a more formidable barrier.
If the bridge stood, < good; if not, perhaps the ice held and afforded
convenient crossing ; if neither, then school for the day was ended for
him before begun. In summer he waded barefooted, or he used
wooden stilts, but summer was not school time for Kirkmichael lads.
By much self-denial a promising lad might be sent to school for a
summer, but winter schooling was the rule. In order to secure some
continuity of even winter schooling it was a common practice for neigh-
bours in the more remote parts to club together and set up what they
called a side school — poorly housed, perhaps even more poorly staffed,
but serving to supply the bare elements to the children of the glen.
But young Dey outgrew the side school, and braving snow and flood
he fought his way to the parish school with an Ainsworth's Latin die-
Schools and Schoolmasters 37
tionary under one arm and a peat under the other, as a friend of his
boyhood tells me. The heritors built the school, furnishing it sparely,
and found the schoolmaster, but recognized no other items of expendi-
ture. Heating was a luxury which the pupils might provide for them-
selves. The same good friend tells me how diligently the lad attended
to his books, and how every hour that could be spared from the day's
usual work he gave to study. In his father's absence William would
sit up of nights tending the operation of meal making, for his father
tenanted the mill and millcroft, but never without his book, which he
read by the light of the kiln fire. Livy, be sure, or Virgil or Xenophon,
or Euclid. Nor were all his winters given to study. For two winters
(1855-57) Day kept school in Petty, near Inverness, doubtless while
the incumbent proper was putting in winter sessions at the University
— a common custom among schoolmasters in those days. But in these
winter evenings how he must have toiled when others lay a-bed. Thus
was William Dey made the man he was, and it is more than likely that
his early experiences made him the brilliant success he was in the " old
barn," where so many of his most famous pupils came from the glens
of the North, where their early experiences, if not exactly the same as
those of the master, were at least of so similar a nature as to make him
most fitted to understand them, and be to them just what they needed
at the most critical time of their lives.
Neither was D^y's early career unique in his own glen. Not a
man who left it for the University but could tell of hardship stoutly
borne and of difficulties surmounted or brushed aside in the pursuit
of the cherished ambition. They could say, however, that they were
well backed up by popular opinion and sentiment. In that glen no
one could be described as illiterate, and its people were distinguished
by their ardent attachment to education and by their deep and
justifiable pride in their schools. When the tradition first became
established it is difficult to determine, but it may be pretty con-
fidently guessed that the influence of the Church had much to do
with it. The appointment of schoolmasters was wisely left by the
heritors in the hands of the parish ministers. Now the parish
ministers of Kirkmichael in the first half of the nineteenth century
were notable men — Grant, the Ministear M6r of old men's tales,
grandfather of the African explorer of that name, and Tulloch, a
member of a distinguished family. The parish schoolmaster of Kirk-
michael from 1812-27 was a Macpherson, a native of the district
38 Aberdeen University Review
and a man of noblest character, who in 1827 was appointed first
minister of the quoad sacra parish of Tomintoul. There need be little
doubt that the influence of these three men must have done a very
great deal towards creating and promoting a fine respect for schools and
learning which was to bear fruit in due season. We find a Kirkmichael
lad taking second place in the Aberdeen University Bursary Competi-
tion of 1844, and the Simpson Greek Prizeman of 1849 was Alex-
ander Cameron, who was even then schoolmaster of his native parish.
Cameron held that appointment from 1846 to 1856, and notwithstand-
ing repeated spells of absence due to University work, he kindled so
great a fire of enthusiasm among the young men of the parish as could
not be quenched for long years after his early death in 1857, when
minister of Kingussie parish. Dey was one of his pupils, and I have
heard him talk of Cameron in terms of profoundest regard and rever-
ence. Cameron's best substitute in his absence was James Grant
(M.A., 1 857), late of Keith. He was a pupil of Cameron's, and towards
the close of his life I have heard him talk with a glow of fine enthus-
iasm of the time when he used to walk every day for miles across the
hills from the neighbouring parish of Glenlivet to read Greek and Latin
with Cameron. In 1856 Cameron was succeeded by his brother, who
died in 1859, and he was succeeded by Donald Robertson, also a
Kirkmichael man. Robertson was fourth Bursar in 1854, and he won
the Simpson Mathematical and the Hutton Prizes in 1858. Here we
have a remarkable occurrence in the fact that a school, which to-day
is probably regarded as a side school, was in these wonderful years
(1846-70) held by a Simpson Greek Prizeman and a Simpson Mathe-
matical Prizeman almost in succession, both of them natives of the
glen. Add to this that James Grant became schoolmaster of Tomin-
toul in 1858, and that he in very truth reigned there for twelve years,
and we may understand much.
James Grant was undoubtedly the greatest of all the parochial
schoolmasters, and assuredly the most remarkable personality whom
I have ever met among teachers. When as late as 1894 Dr. Grant
sent a First Bursar from Keith, Dr. Dey remarked to me, *' Ah, the
old lion is not yet dead," and truly " leonine " was a not inappropriate
epithet. Grant's most distinguished pupil in these early days was
Cosmo M. Grant, whom he sent to the University as Third Bursar and
who graduated in 1862 with First Class Honours in Classics and
Second in Mathematics, gaining at the same time the Hutton Prize.
Schools and Schoolmasters 39
Cosmo Grant was Dey's predecessor in the Grammar School of Old
Aberdeen, and in the few years he held the post he raised the school to
a state of high efficiency even before Dey took it over in 1870.
Donald Sime, the First Bursar of 1 868, was a pupil of the Grammar
School of Old Aberdeen. Death took Grant early, and carried away
the most brilliant scholar whom Kirkmichael has produced. His
brother Robert (M.A., 1863; M.B., 1866) became Inspector-General
of Fleets and Hospitals, with the distinction of C.B. The parish
schoolmasters of the days prior to the passing of the Education Act
of 1873 were a remarkable body of men, and the parish of Kirk-
michael had its full share of the best of them, but even in that
goodly membership Cameron and Grant left by far the deepest im-
pression on the minds of the people. Probably very different types
of men, they were at one in this, that they loved learning for its own
sake, and had that greatest power wherewith a teacher can be gifted —
the power of inspiring their pupils to the highest effort. These two
men between them swayed the minds of the young people of the parish
for twenty-four years — the golden age in the history of the parish,
Cameron I did not know, but his pupils were my teachers, and from
them and from common report of him I have learned to think of him
as one of the finest characters that ever adorned the parochial schools
of the North-East. Grant I knew well. I knew him first as the
power that ruled the grand old school, and in his later years I knew
him otherwise. You could not look upon him, or hear him speak for
five minutes together, without knowing that here was no ordinary man.
Unconsciously he raised himself into an atmosphere where few might
dwell with him, and withal he was intensely human, prompt to re-
cognize a willing effort, and prone to gusts of anger in the presence of
youthful misdemeanour or folly. He ruled his school with lordly
sway ; he was every inch ** the maister " . The school of Tomintoul
was in these great days one long oblong room, divided in two by a
passage running from the door in the middle of one of the long sides
to " the maister's " desk, similarly situated on the other side. On his
right sat the boys, to the left the girls, facing each other across the
passage. In each division five desks in parallel rows crossed the room,
and what desks they were ! — solid structures fast nailed to the floor,
exhibiting all manner of inscriptions and quaint devices. Here you
took your place according to your degree, until, if you were worthy,
you reached the back seat when you were a tall lad and the little
4.0 Aberdeen University Review
ones talked, never to you, but most respectfully of you, as going
to "the College" — to Aberdeen University, that is to say. How
often did we of the front seat turn eyes of reverence to the back seat !
Alas ! the maister's desk and the solid wooden structures with their
blazoned glory have long since been swept out of the way, and now —
no lad goes to " the College ".
In those days codes and compulsory clauses with all their accom-
panying machinery had not been evolved, and so attendance varied
greatly from summer to winter — from forty or fifty boys and girls to
120 or more. How long-drawn-out were those glorious summer days
of the olden time ! The " College " lads had it mostly their own way
then, for the day of all days — the University Bursary Competition —
came on in autumn, and he who failed to acquit himself as the glens-
men expected of him hardly dared face them again. Colin Campbell
knew his Highlanders when he told them on the slopes of Alma that,
if any man shirked, he would have his name stuck up on the door of
his parish kirk. In winter, when the enrolment rose to maximum,
these lads met early. By the time the first faint flush of dawn had
broken on the snow-clad eastern hills "the maister" was at his desk,
his scholars around him, holding morning converse with Livy, Cicero,
Virgil, Xenophon. When the main body had gathered together, they
retired to their back seat to spend most of the day in earnest self-help.
All around rose the steady but unheeded hum of lesson-reciting, for in
those days the master's hands were full indeed, what with the general
run of work and the special requirements of that band of stalwarts
over in the corner there, who had spared a " raith " from wage-earning
to luxuriate in the complete curriculum of writing and counting. So
the short but busy winter's day passed on till even in those clear
northern skies the last vestige of daylight had died away, and the
school skailed.
Such a man's worth could not be hid, and so he was translated to
other and larger spheres ; but to the end — and the end did not come
till a quarter of a century later — he kept one corner of his heart sacred
to the memories of the school in the glen. He never knew retirement
from active duties. Till full seventy years of age he remained at work,
eager and inspiring as in those days of his prime. Less than two
years before his death he sent up the First Bursar of the year, and he
died as he would have wished to die— -at his post. The trumpet call
to duty never fell on his ears unheeded, he answered to the end.
Schools and Schoolmasters 41
This man's mind and thoughts were large, and he loved wide, open
spaces. Often would he wander alone, or with some friend whom he
loved, by moorland tracks over the wide waste, breasting the steep
slopes with the easy swing that betokens the born hillman. Once,
when nigh seventy years of age, he travelled' all alone from Dee to
Spey by way of Loch Avon. The spell of the weird wilderness fell
upon him as he walked, and the night came down thick and dark ere
he reached the edge of the great forest. Fearful of missing a some-
what uncertain track, whereof he only knew faintly, he sat down at
the foot of a big, old fir tree and waited calmly for the dawn. The
moaning pines, the rushing stream talked the night away, and he who
heard and understood mayhap gave back fitting answer.
We have journeyed far since that near-hand olden time. '* Another
race hath been, and other palms are won," yet the men of the Old
Guard fought their fights, and won their laurels too, and of a truth
their works do follow after them.
CHARLES STEWART.
Fae The Glen.
A REPLY TO "FAE FRANCE".*
Dear Sandie — Man, 'twis kin* o* you to think o* vreetin' me,
For mony's the time, as ye'll weel min', we've focht and kwidna gree ;
Bit, man, A beer ye nae ill will, A'm verra pleased ti ken
Ye're oot o' danger eence again and fairly on the men'.
The papers tell't 's o' mony fechts and- casualities ;
It's little faith we pit in them, they tell sae mony lees,
Bit fegs we wis some anxious kin* fin wird gid throu the glen
*At ye hid baith yer feet shot aff an widna fecht again.
Sae I was gled ti get yir crack, and read fat *ee hid said
Ti a* yer freens 'at cam in by afore we gid ti bed.
Ye sidda seen their faces as they h'ard the story throu,
They a' kint fechtin' wis yir job, but little did they trou
*At 'ee kwid vreet as weel as fecht : 'ee widna blame them sair,
'Twis little 'ee did at the skweel, for a' the maister's care.
At thocht o' foumarts burnin* wydes wee Jamie did guffa',
He min't fu fan the barn took fire the rottens ran awa ;
But Lizzie sobbit sair and grat to heer o* sraorin' men.
An* sure aneuch the greetin brocht the kinkhost back again.
Yir picter o* the cottar wives wis hardly ti their min' —
" ' Lyaug-lyaugin,' ses he ? Weel-a-wat," quo' een — ye'll ken her fine —
'* A've men't his breeks a score o' times fin he'd been up ti tricks,
An' dauma show his face at hame for fear o' gettin's licks.
Ti teer his claes on barbit weer he didna need to be
Awa fae hame or ower in France, jist tell him that fae me."
" Him tak' a craft?" said Hilly's Jean, "he'd nivver sattle doon
Ti a' the fikey jobs there is ti dee aboot a toon ;
Yi winna thrive upo' the Ian' and full baith barn and byre
Bi cleanin' graith on caul' forenichts afore the kitchie fire ;
» Ry Charles Murray (Vol. III., 241-3).
Fae The Glen 43
Ye'd think, the wye 'at some fouk speak 'at disna pey their bills
'At com an* neeps an' taties grou like heather on the hills.
* An syne a wife,' says he, naeless ? bit loshtie I maun rin,
Gweed peety ony lass 'at thinks ti keep him fae the inn."
"Fat's that he says aboot the quire?" the aul' precentor speer't^
" He's nae awthoritie on that, he seldom cam ti heer't ;
His kirk hid naither wa's nor doors, for reef it hid the blue,
And for a quire the lowin' nowt, the teuchit, an' curlew.
A dinna say it's ony sin on Sundays fine an' clear
Ti wauner up an doon the braes or dim' a hill 'at's near.
'Ave aften deen't masel, ye ken, A'm sure A'm neen the warr,
* I to the hills ' soons best o' a' in sicht o' Lochnagarr.
But Sandie's heid wis maist teen up wi rabbits, hares, and groose,.
The warks o' God wis nae in's thochts, fin he gid by His hoosc."
"Ye sidna besae sair on him," the sooter here strak in,
" A chiel 'at risked his life to save the Shirra's sweerin' sin
Maun hae some gweedness in his hert, though little o't we saw
Fin he got drunk and focht and poached afore he gid awa'."
"That's very right," the maister said, **and kindly spoken too.
For France has made a man of him, as nothing here could do.
And tho' he was an idle boy, and tried my temper sore,
That one brave deed for all his faults makes full amends and more.""
An* noo, dear Sandie, I maun stop, the daylicht's gey near geen,
Sae, here's gweednicht and muckle luck to Sergeant Aberdein.
P.S. — A've bocht a trump wi' double stang, bit it'll need a box,
An' I'se pit in some bogie rowe, an' twa'r-three pair o' socks.
W. B. MORREN._
« Ilium."
HFair was your city, old and fair,
And fair the Hall where the Kings abode,
-And you speak to us in your despair,
To us who see but ruins bare,
A crumbled wall, a shattered stair.
And graves on the Menin Road.
•It was sweet, you say, from the City Wall
"To watch the fields where the horsemen rode :
It was sweet to hear at evenfall
.Across the moat the voices call :
It was good to see the stately Hall
From the paths by the Menin Road.
~Yea, Citizens of the City Dead,
Whose souls are torn by memory's goad :
But now there are stones in the Cloth Hall's stead,
-And the moat that you loved is sometimes red.
And voices are still, and laughter sped,
And torn is the Menin Road.
-And by the farms and the House of White,
And the shrine where the little candle glowed,
There is silence now by day and night.
Or the sudden crash and the blinding light.
For the guns smite ever as thunders smite,
And there's death on the Menin Road.
JOHN WATT SIMPSON, M.A. ('09), LL.B.,
Corpl., 8th Rifle Brigade.
-From the " Salient "—published by the Sixth Corps.
The University's Disputing Society of 1795-6.
|HE ** Minutes and proceedings of the Disputing Society^
held in the Marischal College, Aberdeen, 1795," which-,
are treasured up in the library of Trinity College,,
Toronto, contain the curt entry for 12 November:
''Rejected John Strachan, K. College". But on 7 De-
cember his autograph appears as a signatory of the con-
stitution, his acceptance as a member having probably
been effected through the influence of Montague Beattie,
the son of Professor Beattie and the friend of his school-
boy days, whose name stands second on the list of charter members.
As an evidence that the feeling between the two universities ran high,
stands the defeat, by a majority of twenty to five, of a motion made on 14
December, to "admit gratis any of the Members of the Literary Society of
King's College to hear the Debates in this Society, if they would admit us on
the same Conditions ".
On Monday, January nth 1795 [stc] "Mr. Montague Beattie was by a .
majority elected Secretary. . . . Mr. Beattie refused either to take that office
or to pay the usual fine of 6d., as he had paid for not accepting twice before,
and appeled [sic] to the society whether he should be obliged to take that
office or not. It was unanimously agreed that he should not be obliged.
Mr. Strachan was then chosen, but, as he could only attend once a week (the
Society now met twice), it was thought improper to appoint him."
The first debate in which Mr. Strachan took part was held on the even- .
ing of the election of the Secretary, the subject being: "Whether is Agri-
culture or Commerce of most advantage to Great Britain ? " He upheld the
advantages of Commerce and happened to be upon the winning side.
Three days later the subject was: ** Whether ambition has done more
good or evil?" The proposer of the question was absent and, contrary to
the rule of the Society, he had not sent a discourse. Mr. Strachan stepped
into the breach and said something in favour of ambition "when actuated by
generous motives," but "gave it as his opinion that it has been productive
of more evil ".
Nobody taking the other side, Mr. Strachan (as there was likely to be no
debate) said a few words in favour of " ambition being productive of more
good ". In this he was supported by one other speaker, but, when the vote
was taken, only one member was recorded as favouring the good. One
wonders which of the speakers it was.
The same subject was again discussed, and with a like result in the vot-
ing, at the thirty-second meeting on Monday, 29 February. In the minutes,,
however, no debater's name is mentioned on this occasion but that of Mr.„.
Lobban, the proposer of the question.
46 Aberdeen University Review
For the same meeting the following entry is found: "As the original
rules were much vitiated by motions which had been since made, and not
sufficient for regulating the Society, Messrs. Lobban, Rose, and Strachan
were appointed as a committee to draw up a set of new rules and lay them
before the meeting at 7 o'clock on Monday". At the foot of the same
page it is recorded that Mr. Strachan proposed for Thursday 2 1 Currt. the
question : " Has the Norman Conquest been of advantage to Britain ? "
The Committee did its work, as witness an entry in capital letters, which
occupies a full page: all the foregoing laws, motions &c. are de-
clared NULL AND VOID JANUARY 1 8 — 1 796. In the new constitution pro-
vision was made for electing the praeses from the Magistrands or those who
have finished their studies at either of the Universities. The very name of
the Society was made to reflect this change of policy, for it was known
throughout the rest of its brief existence as " the Aberdeen literary society '*.
Again the rules were subscribed by all the members, precedence being given to
the three gentlemen already named. Their signatures are bracketed and op-
posite them is the note, " Committee for framing the Rules ".
A debate followed as to "Whether do we reap more good or evil by
reading novels ? " Although it had been proposed by Mr. Montague Beattie,
"Mr. Strachan opened ye debate with a speech of considerable length".
He was on the popular side this time, the vote standing, evil thirteen, good
two. He advanced the view that " Reading novels takes up much of our
time, which would be much better employed in acquiring useful knowledge.
But its worst tendency is that it corrupts ye morals of the young, as these
books are generally filled with the History of lovers." Quite a proper senti-
ment for a lad not fully eighteen years of age.
As proposer of the debate on the Norman Conquest he " opened the de-
bate in a discourse of somfe length " on Thursday, the 21st. " He Concluded
with giving it as his opinion that the Norman Conquest has been of advantage
to Britain. As no other member had anything to say on the subject, it was
put to the vote, but every person declined voting but the president & Mr.
Strachan." "The President," with true Scottish love for contradicting,
" thought it had been of disadvantage."
After a brief record of other business the Minutes continue : "As this did
not take up the whole evening, Mr. Strachan proposed the following as a
temporary one : ' Whether has the rise and fall of the Roman Empire been
of advantage to the world in general ? ' Mr. Strachan rose and gave a history
of the Roman empire from its foundation to its fall," which did not prevent
him from winning a favourable decision by a majority of one, two members
declining to vote.
He had not done all the speaking by any means, for it is recorded that
"After some more remarks from other members The president summed up the
arguments on both sides ".
On the 25th he spoke against the Slave Trade, but he was unable to con-
vince his audience of its injustice. The decision stood eleven to one.
On Monday, i February, he " gave it as his opinion that men are more
swayed by natural judgement than biassed by Custom ". Apparently, he stood
alone, for " after a long debate it was put to the vote " and only one member
was recorded as voting for his side of the question and ten for the other.
On 4 February there was a very thin meeting, so the subject set down
University's Disputing Society of 1795-6 47
for that evening was postponed to the following Monday. " As Mr. Strachan
said he never intended to propose the one intended for Monday, it was thrown
out."
On Monday, 8 February, the question '* Whether is a publick or private
education more conducive to the improvement of youth ? " was proposed by
Mr. M. Beattie, he contending for the advantage of the former. " Mr. Lob-
ban made a few remarks on both sides but gave it as his opinion that a private
education is of most advantage to youth."
" Mr. Strachan gave his opinion agt. Mr. Lobban."
" The Topic was then put to the vote — when it was determined that a
Public education was of most benefit to Youth."
After the heading " 28th meeting" there is a deletion of the date (Mon-
day, 15th February, 1796) and of the question. This read: "Whether the
World has reaped more advantage from the learning of Greece or Rome? "
The question had been •' Proposed by Mr. Strachan," but for it was sub-
stituted : " Whether Ought Caesar to be reckoned the Friend or Enemy of
Rome by declaring himself its perpetual Dictator ? " Mr. Strachan allowed
him credit for his attentions to learned men, but, owing to the decrease of
population and the death of Pompey and Cato, he gave it as his opinion
*' that Caesar was to be reckoned the enemy of Rome ". The contrary view was
taken by Messrs. Lobban, Skinner, Rose, and M. Beattie, who defeated Mr.
Strachan by eight to one.
Mr. Beattie and he were on opposite sides again at the next meeting,
which was held on Thursday, 18 February. The latter, in introducing the
question: "Whether we have reaped most advantage from the learning of
Greece or Rome?" inclined to the side of Rome. Mr. Beattie supported
the claims of Greece, having begun " with giving a history of Literature from
the earliest times ". This and his contention that the Romans received their
learning from Greece won the debate.
A week later, when the members set out to inquire "What are the
peculiar advantages derived from reading history ? " all three speakers, Messrs.
Beattie, Lobban, and Strachan, appear to have been agreed. So too were
the members generally, for no division is recorded.
On Thursday, 3 March, "Some of the Gentlemen spoke upon the subject,
but all declined voting, as it was too much of a political topic ". It was
"Whether is a Nation more indebted to her arms or Literature?" Mr.
Strachan, in opening the debate, contended vigorously for Literature, lauded
reason and the Athenians, and stated that " in the times of the feudal system
they were a set of Barbarians who delighted in nothing but arms & Blood-
shed".
A still more remarkable situation developed at the next meeting, on
Monday, 7 March, when Mr. Lobban proposed the question : "Whether does
the Blind or Deaf man sustain the greatest loss ? " He and Mr. Strachan,
who supported him, were agreed as to the more favourable lot of the blind
man, but neither they nor any one else cast a vote.
"In a motion made by Mr. Lobban, those Gentlemen who declined
voting were ordered to give reasons for doing so.
" Mr. Lobban's reason accordingly was that he did not think the Subject
was, from the debate, fully ripe for a decision.
" Mr. Angus's reason was that he had heard no decisive argument to de-
termine him to give his vote.
48 Aberdeen University Review
" Mr. Strachan's reason for not voting was that the President took the
vote, very improperly, when the debate was just in the middle."
Whether the approaching close of the session or the fact that he was a
philosopher's son turned his mind toward the contemplation of ethical
values, Mr. Beattie had proposed for discussion at the thirty-fifth meeting the
question : " Whether does the refinement of manners tend to Virtue or
Vice?" Again he was unable to be present and once more his friend stepped
into the breach caused by his absence and opened the debate, arguing that
vice followed an over-refinement of manners. He enforced his contention
by a reference to the downfall of the Athenians, the Macedonians, and the
Romans. Vice obtained four votes and Virtue only two.
Mr. Skinner, apparently the Bishop's son, is stated to have been elected
to the presidency for the next meeting and to have proposed as the question
for debate : "Whether has Satyre or Panegyric the greater tendency to excite
men to the Practice of virtue ? " There is no record that this debate ever
took place, the only other entry being " 36th Meeting, Monday 14th March —
Whether is Gaming or drinking the greater vice ? Prop, by Mr. Lobban.""
An appropriately penitential and searching question for the end of the
academic year.
In 1796 Mr. Strachan became Schoolmaster of the Parish of Denina
[Dunino, East Fifeshire], returned to the University at Christmas, took his
Master's degree in 1797, and then resumed his duties as Schoolmaster. Re-
ceiving an offer of a better school in the Parish of Kettle, he soon removed
thither and remained till August, 1799, at the same time studying theology at
St. Andrews, In this year he emigrated to Upper Canada, as the Province of
Ontario was at that time called, and there he made his home till his death in
1867. Through all these years, filled with work as a schoolmaster, a Uni-
versity president, an Executive and a Legislative Councillor, a parish clergy-
man, an Archdeacon, a Bishop, and a philanthropist, he kept as a treasure
the Minute Book of the Disputing Society of which he had been such an active
member. This, in due time, came into the possession of one of the two
Universities which he founded in Toronto.
A. H. YOUNG.
Trinity College,
Toronto, Canada.
Letters from Men on Service.
I.
Francs, 2 October, 1916.
To give my experiences of life in France during the war would be, I
fear, but a bald repetition of accounts given more lucidly and vividly than I
can pretend to in the daily newspapers. Yet, at your request, I shall do
my best, while taking the liberty to substitute the word " observations " for
" experiences ".
One of the most obvious things to the newcomer, as he traverses the
North of France, is the remarkable difference between the landscapes of that
country and those of Scotland. The, to me, familiar Aberdeenshire land-
scape, bald in the extreme in many places while pretty in more favoured
localities, has nevertheless a feature notably absent from the French landscape.
Although the vegetation here may be greener and more luxuriant, yet a view of
fields bearing "promising" crops, pleasant though the prospect may be, does
not compensate for the lack of homesteads, which one naturally associates
with an agricultural district at home. For the French peasants, small farmers
mostly, live in small hamlets of 100-300 inhabitants, such hamlets being
2-3 kilometres apart, with the result that the connecting route is quite desti-
tute of human habitations. The intervening land, divided up into small
lots, is intensively cultivated, much as we do our gardens at home. Thither
go the peasants early in the morning — it is sometimes, as you see, a good long
walk — returning again at night after a hard day's toil. I need not dwell
on the fact that the women do most of the work on these allotments, for
every one at home now knows the lot of our Ally's womenfolk (although, of
course, the French women worked far more on the land than their British
sisters even before the war) — but I shall just make this statement, that it
seems to me they are overworked, misshapen often, and haggard and thin
before the usual time. In the children, I think one sees a reflection of this^
for very, very rarely does one see the healthy-faced, ruddy-complexioned
sturdiness that one associates with the country schoolboy at home. No, they
are all, almost without exception, slim, thin, and pale-faced. It may be con-
tended that the difference is inherent, due to climatic or environmental
differences, but, judging from what often happens at home, I think the
association of the two conditions or facts is legitimate and justifiable.
Starting with two similar undulating countrysides, what may not one do to»
make one beautiful and the other dreary I A type of the latter I have in.
mind — a district agriculturally highly important yet dreary and monotonous —
Buchan, a treeless, windswept community. Enjoying somewhat greater agri-
cultural advantages, yet in all other respects but one presenting to the eye a
4
50 Aberdeen University Review
landscape of monotonously even undulations, is Pas-de-Calais, a Department in
N. France. That one saving grace is its possession of trees, planted with the
Frenchman's eye for the beautiful, along the highways and — ^judicious in the
extreme — around the hamlets, effectively obscuring what is a rather untidy
and unpleasant sight, enfolding with a green garment the old clay-walled
steadings of the component homesteads. The proximity of such trees to the
valuable agricultural land would be revolting to the peasants* sense of eco-
nomy, were it not for the fact that he is thoroughly acquaint with the method
of handling trees so that they interfere as little as possible with his yield of
crops. Hence the tree, familiar and characteristic of our English parks and
woodlands, with its short bole and large spreading crown of twisted and
gnarled branches, is quite a rarity in France. Its place is taken by the tree
with the long clean bole and small crown — a tree giving the minimum
of interference to the development of crops, providing at the same time the
maximum amount of economic timber. In this way the French peasant
utilizes to the utmost the resources of his country's soil.
Of his industrial activity and of his corporate life I cannot speak as our
section has never been billeted in any large town. Rather shall I conclude
with a short attempt at the description of Army life and its effect upon the
individual.
In my last letter to you I mentioned the congenial company in which it
was my lot to fall at Chatham. It was my misfortune, however, to be
separated off from all my acquaintances after landing in France, and to be
associated, thenceforth, with a heterogeneous collection of teachers, miners,
masons, etc. To be intimately associated with men from all grades of life is
an education or experience which has an effect of a positive or negative kind
according to how far one adheres to one's standard of character. This
standard of character in the Army is very often the least common multiple
of the individuals' ideals. Yet, while that is so out of the trenches, the more
fundamental test — the testing of moral courage in the trenches — does not try
the men and find them wanting. One's faith in human nature, shaken at
first by judging from superficial evidences, is once more restored when one
witnesses the heroism of one's comrades.
Must close as length of letters is limited.
Our Indian Territorials.
We take the following extracts from an article by Miss Clerihew of Poona in "The
Women's Missionary Magazine of the United Free Church of Scotland". Dr. Youngson
is the well-known graduate of this University, M.A., 1873, and D.D., 1893.
CLOUDY, windy morning on the heights beyond
Poona. . . . From the left comes the constant crack
of rifles and the occasional whiz of a stray bullet
through the air. It is the native Christian regiment at
their daily practice at the butts. Every day from 5.30
a.m. to II, and often from 3 p.m. till 7, they are hard
at work, hastening to become efficient defenders of the
"Raj". For these men are not soldiers originally.
They have left their homes and lands, and in some
cases good appointments in the Punjaub, to rally round the colours with all
that means of privation and danger. They are tall, stalwart fellows, mostly
land tillers like the majority of Indians. They belong to different races.
One jemidar comes from the old, proud fighting stock of the Rajputs ; some
were originally Mohammedans ; most were Hindus. All are the sons of
Christian parents, so they have heard of self-sacrifice and self-denial from
childhood, and were ready to respond when the call came. A few of them
were employed in mission colleges and schools, and know English. They all
understand both Punjaubi and Urdu. At parade service, however, very few
have books in their hands. This service is conducted in Urdu by the Rev.
Dr. Youngson, of the Church of Scotland, who is well known and beloved in
the Punjaub. It is very fortunate for the 250 Christians attached to the 88th
Carnatics here that Dr. Youngson is stationed in Poona at present. He not
only conducts service for them on Sundays, but his house is a home open to
them at all times. They are very fond of singing, and one day, in the early
hot weather. Dr. Youngson took a company of them to a fort near Tanowlie.
They were full of the joy of life and liberty, flinging their sticks up into the
roadside trees to bring down the young mangoes, and enlivening the way in
the railway carriage and far into the night by snatches of psalms and hymns
which, accompanied by the thud of their little native drum, sound far more
like wild battle slogans than the breathings of piety — indeed, a quaint com-
pany for an honoured doctor of divinity to play Robin Hood to 1 They need
such uplifting influence and companionship sorely, for barrack life has many
temptations, and they are strangers in a strange land, among people of an un-
known tongue, and doubly exiled by a Government regulation which puts the
native city "out of bounds" for native troops. But they^ave some of the
light- heartedness in rough places of the British Tommy, although many of
them have left wife and family behind, for whom it is hard to provide on the
pittance they receive. They are reaping benefits, however, from the stern
52 Aberdeen University Review
training and open-air existence. They are learning agility, smartness, obedi-
ence, and probably they may learn punctuality if kept in training long enough.
Morning service is timed for 9.30 on Sundays, but by that time it is well
under way, and an invitation to tea at four will bring the guests perhaps at
three, perhaps at five. . . . They have taken tunes from the bazaars and set
them to Christian words, which are often very sweet and full of fresh and
winning similes, while the airs have the wild, joyous cry of the jungle in them,
and breathe a different spirit entirely from the softer strains of Western India.
. . . What meets their needs is the simplicity with which Dr. Youngson always
talks to them, as most of them are simple and unlearned. They sing the
Psalms, the whole of which have been translated into Punjaubi metre by a
native pastor, a Mohammedan convert, who has been connected for long with
the American Mission in the Punjaub. One of his sons is a jemidar in this
regiment, and their stay in Poona will be memorable to him, as he has become
engaged to the daughter of a Brahmin Christian poet and preacher, as
famous in Marasthra as his own father is in the north. It is not every
Indian girl who would have the bravery to pledge troth, as it were, to the
music of the cannon. We hope, however, that these brave fellows will be
kept for the defence of India, and that the supreme sacrifice which they are
willing to make — as they say in their simple way, " It is our duty " — will not
be required of them.
I
Reviews.
Alexander Mackie: Prose and Verse. Edited, with Memoir, by John
Minto Robertson, M.A. Aberdeen : The Rosemount Press.
Whether the life and work of our first Convener and Editor, Alexander
Mackie, provided material for an extended biography, is a question for his
literary executor, and will doubtless be decided in due time. Meanwhile there
appears a welcome little work, a quarto foolscap volume of ia8 pages with
portrait frontispiece, which gives in small compass an excellent study of the
man and at the same time preserves a few notable selections from his writings.
The book has been projected by the former pupils of Albyn Place School
as a tribute of respect and affection to a revered master, whose departure
left them mourning a friend and an intellectual father. Coming as it does
from "school," the memoir, by Mr. J. Minto Robertson, dwells for the
most part on Mackie the educationist, and on the more intimate aspects
of his work as a teacher. That did not exhaust the varied qualities of the
man, and to these justice is done within the limits of the sketch. While his
relation to his pupils is the main and the proper theme of the present memoir,
it is made abundantly clear that Alexander Mackie was no mere pedagogue,
but a Master in the mediaeval teacher's sense — one who, by the magnetism of
his method and personality, drew pupils to his feet and founded a school.
He had progenitors — he had a progenitor-in-chief, that other Alexander, to
wit, Bain, whose method influenced Mackie's entire system, but he was him-
self an originator and he engrafted on the stem of Bain's doctrine many vital
shoots, whereof the fruition was his own.
Mackie was happy in the opportunity of his teaching. He had a unique
gift for instructing girls and young women, and fate ordained that he should
exercise it to the full. His pupils, too, were fortunate, for while he led them
in the gracious paths of EngUsh literature, his subject in chief, he was always,
like Mrs. Battle, very jealous for " the rigour of the game ". The vague ** ap-
preciation " he banned ; the pupils had to show cause for any estimate of an
author. Beneath the elusive mystery of English style, Mackie discerned laws,
and with the accuracy of a physical investigator taught his disciples to detect
them. He was the careful anatomist, for whom no process, however minute,
is unimportant. But with it all he never lost sight of the end of style, the
full and harmonious use of the mighty instrument of language, yet always as
the expression of thought, clear, exact and well-reasoned. Thus it was that
his pupils, when they left him, found themselves with every perception
quickened; he had attained the teacher's highest aim, the awakening of in-
tellectual interest, and had given them new eyes to see in literature the reflec-
tion and the guide of life. Copious in illustration, he let no chance slip, but
all in the easiest and most natural way, the outcome of abounding knowledge.
There comes back to the present reviewer, a moment in a railway carriage
54 Aberdeen University Review
when Mackie was returning from one of those country excursions he loved.
Rain had fallen earlier, but a gleam of sunset caught a golden patch of char-
lock. He pointed out at the window and exclaimed — '* How right Tennyson
is : —
As shines
A field of charlock in the sudden sun
Between two showers '*.
The line, hitherto passed over carelessly, sprang into vital meaning.
"Yet once or twice," he added, " Tennyson's nature knowledge is wrong, for
instance —
The swallow and the swift are near akin.
They are not.** That was complete Mackie. No mere literary flourish,
based on error in science, could count with him for anything. You had to
get your facts right before you dared to use them. Yet he was no pedant,
and poetry lay near his heart. He knew the "really excellent" and could
put into others* hands sure touchstones of the pure gold of literature.
Mr. Minto Robertson makes a useful point when he emphasizes what
is perhaps the most individual part of Mackie's work, his insight into the
possibilities of a University career for women, or, rather, of women for a
University career. It is claimed that he made the University woman in
Aberdeen. At any rate, he gave the schoolgirl such a chance as she might
not otherwise have had of benefiting by University training. That, the college
record of his former pupils abundantly proves, and there we may safely leave
it. But he "educated" also, in the true sense of the word, innumerable
women who proceeded to no degree except that of domestic or social duty,
and the influence of these on the community to-day is no less important than
that of their sisters who have been " capped and doctored and a' and a' ".
Of Mackie's personality who shall write adequately ? To know him was
to love him. That is the whole matter. He was the very expression of our
bright and bracing North, a part of the country, and by long use and wont no
less a part of our braif toun and its University. To those of us who are exiles,
no return home could be quite right without an evening at Mackie's hospit-
able fireside. He kept us up-to-date with home politics, he discoursed
shrewdly of the arenas of the South, their men and their new books. And in
later years, when he had added to his manifold activities that of perfect ex-
positor of yet another great Alexandrian tradition, the cult of '* Johnny Gibb,"
his good tales of the wintry road and of rustic audiences came singing like a
snell wind from the Braes of Foudland. Mackie, with Dr. Alexander's text as
gospel, revitalized the North. We were in danger of losing our heritage, of
forgetting those things which our fathers had told us ; their very speech in its
pristine purity was passing out of hearing. The written word could not
wholly preserve those rich phonetics, rough-seeming to the alien, but to the
native how melodious 1 And melodious they are in esse. Can any language
outrival, for example, that swift passage of picturesque imagery —
Awat it was a snell mornin' ; Benachie as fite's a washen fleece, an' oorlich shoo'ers
o' drift an' hail scoorin' across the kwintra ?
We may compare
Vides, ut alta stet nive candidum
Soracte,
and that simile of Homer (the goatherd watching the black squall) where
Reviews 5 5
piyyja-ev tc ISiov gives precisely the same feeling as that aroused by Hairry
Muggart's keen flash of landscape — we may compare them and confess
that Hairry runs at least a dead heat with the ancients for just and right
phrase. Such were the treasures of local speech and usage that were fading
into mere visible symbols, almost mute, when Mackie, speaking the language,
made them once more lively and vocal documents. By that act of linguistic
patriotism alone he has raised for himself a monument more enduring than
bronze. It cost him dear. He braved too many rigours of climate that he
might bring back " Gushets " to his own. It was " bye-work " to be sure, but
bye-work worthy of the public educator and germane to his calling. And it
was work that no other could have done. It found him no less than he found
it. And like all his other tasks, he did it with his might.
Sir VV. Robertson Nicoll wished that Mackie had been Boswellized in a
former memorial sketch. To some extent this has been done by Mr. Minto
Robertson, inasmuch as he has admirably suggested the man as he moved
among his fellows and has shown him in the various relations of daily life. But
of strict Boswellization there is little or nothing, hardly a single saying quoted
verbatim. This is the more surprising, considering the source of the present
volume, for Mackie's good things are especially remembered and treasured
by his pupils, who might very well have clubbed reminiscences to preserve
some of the master's oh'ter dicta. Of these the disciplinary were, perhaps,
the neatest and richest. The second portion of the book, however, is in a
manner a Boswellization. The little handful of sketches and poems reflects
the writer's uttered word with considerable completeness, and the choice seems
to have been made to that end. Here we have the true disciple of Izaak
Walton, the enthusiastic gardener, the keen student of Nature, animate and
inanimate, in all her moods, the rambler, the observer of bird life and plant
life, the recorder of country humours, and lastly the experimenter in verse.
The sketches in the " Johnny Gibb " manner proclaim their inspiration, but
they bring the picture down to the present day and add a modern touch of satire,
entirely Mackie's own, in their reproduction of a later gentility affected
by rustic young women — a retrogressive gentility in which Eliza Birse was
only a beginner. What Mrs. Milne Rae (Miss Gibb of Willowbank) once
most happily called "an amended accent " is here touched off to perfection.
But it was when he wrote of his garden that Mackie came into his own.
There fulness of knowledge and devotion to the subject attained their inevi-
table fruition ; the writer's style shed the slight stiffness visible at times else-
where, and the result was a little masterpiece. The deft play with the
nomenclature of plant and tree is purely Virgilian. " An Amateur's Garden "
stands out as a veritable Georgic in prose.
Mackie's verse endures wonderfully. His models are obvious, his vein
the Wordsworthian reflective. Here perhaps he came to his task with more
conscious endeavour than spontaneity, and the work may suffer somewhat on
that account. But the fragments were well worth preserving. One or two,
in the vernacular, are true " Hamewith " lyrics, racy of the soil, and abound-
ing in country humour of the local type dear to the writer's heart.
These literary remains, read again in close connexion with the memoir,
aptly illustrate Mr. Minto Robertson's biographical points. But the cardinal
virtue of the collection is that in these fugitive pieces we can hear Mackie's
voice once more ; still we may commune with our friend beyond the shadows.
S.
56 Aberdeen University Review
Chemistry in the Service of Man. By Alexander Findlay, M.A., D.Sc.
London : Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xiv + 255.
The general study of non- professional subjects is, of course, important as a
safeguard against bias and bigotry and in order to cultivate a symp)athetic and
intelligent outlook on the various spheres of honourable human activity.
The authorities of the United Free Church of Scotland seem to recognize this
principle by including science in the Divinity curriculum. Thus, at the
Aberdeen Hall there is the Thomson course of Science Lectures. Chemistry
was the subject in 191 5, and the lectures by Professor Findlay form the basis
of the book now under review. It is, therefore, written«for those for whom
Chemistry is a non-professional subject.
A volume by so successful an author as Dr. Findlay is always welcome.
It is true that there are already books of this kind in the market, but there
can hardly be too many at the present time, when it is so important for our
country's welfare that every one outside the Chemistry profession should have
well-balanced conceptions regarding the services Chemistry has rendered to
mankind. The nation that neglects Chemistry will be left behind in inter-
national competition. Such honourable place as Germany held among the
nations before the war was largely due to her attention to this science, and
there are some who believe that she would have ultimately obtained the lead-
ing place without any war. It is for us to see to it now that nothing is left
undone in promoting the development of Chemistry in Britain. Our country's
very life depends upon this.
One great obstacle to the advancement of Chemistry is the amazing
ignorance that prevails even in the most enlightened circles — for example,
among University-trained people. To most persons the chemist is a druggist,
a buyer and seller of drugs or a dealer in requisites for the toilet of exquisites.
The popular idea is that the professor and his experiments are of Httle more
importance than the schoolboy and his soap-bubbles: these things may
suffice to pass an idle hour but seem to have no bearing on the serious affairs
of life. It is not at all surprising, then, that pure Chemistry has received
little encouragement in this country, and there will be no improvement until
people are taught the full connotation of the word Chemistry. A missionary
enterprise in this direction is urgently required. This can be carried out by
books such as the present one, or by the proper upkeep and extension of the
Schools of Chemistry in the various Universities and Colleges.
In giving the original lectures and in writing this book, Dr. Findlay has
kept constantly before him the cultural as well as the vocational value of
Chemistry. Many who know the practical usefulness of Chemistry fail to
realize its importance as an instrument of culture. A certain writer, in re-
viewing this book recently, congratulated Dr. Findlay on venturing to present
to Scotsmen any other than the utilitarian aspect of Chemistry. Dr. Findlay's
knowledge of Scotsmen is more accurate than that reviewer's.
In addition to the prevalent misconceptions regarding Chemistry, there is
another very serious hindrance to progress. Professor Findlay thinks that a
proper general presentation of Chemistry in all its inherent attractiveness will
induce many more young men to devote themselves to this profession. This
process of enlightenment, though necessary, is not sufficient. The fact is
that the profession does not provide a means of making a living, except for a
few of the leaders. The youth who can look forward to some other career —
Reviews 5 7
for example, Medicine — coupling congenial work with adequate emoluments
is not likely to adopt the Chemistry profession. Services given at a low fee
are never appreciated, and the low salaries of chemists partly account for the
absurd ideas prevalent regarding the chemist's work. Of course, no one
would suppose that work paid for so poorly could have the great fundamental
national importance claimed for it.
It is most depressing, in this connexion, that any opposition to reform
should come from the chemists themselves — from the leaders. Their attitude
was clearly brought out in connexion with the war- work recently carried out
throughout the kingdom. They would not listen to any suggestion of pay-
ment. The Government paid the workers nothing and will, of course, regard
the services as worth the price paid. The policy adopted then was plausibly
unselfish and patriotic, but was in reality short-sighted and harmful to the
best interests, not only of the profession but also of the nation. A demand
for an adequate price would have appeared mercenary and selfish but would
have really been far-seeing and patriotic.
If there were a sufficient number of well-paid permanent appointments
for men trained in pure Chemistry, there would soon be a boom in the profes-
sion. It is for the manufacturers to institute such appointments with or
without the assistance of the Government — but such appointments there
must be. It is absolutely useless to offer more scholarships, as has been re-
cently suggested. It is worse than useless — it is heartless — to entice a youth
from stage to stage by scholarships, and then at the end of his training to
maroon him.
Chemistry does not lend itself readily to popular treatment. Dr. Findlay,
however, has produced a very readable book. The historical and personal
references add considerably to the interest, and the attractiveness of the
volume is enhanced by the inclusion of portraits of Boyle, Dalton and
Pasteur.
Francis W. Gray.
Bach's Mass in B Minor. A Study by Charles Sanford Terry. Glasgow :
James Maclehose & Sons.
Bach's Chorals. By Charles Sanford Terry. Part I. The Hymns and
Hymn-melodies of the "Passions " and Oratorios. Cambridge: at the
University Press.
This is not Professor Terry's first appearance in the field of Bach literature.
For the 191 1 Novello edition of the " Passion " according to St. Matthew, edited
by Sir Edward Elgar and Mr. Ivor Atkins, he took part in the retranslation
of the words from the original German. By the publications named above
he has established a claim to be considered, in relation to Bach's sacred
music, not only as an amateur, but an expert and an authority.
The " Mass in B Minor," although composed in the year 1735 ^^ thereby,
remained practically unknown in this country till 1838, when three move-
ments were brought to a hearmg in London. It is unfortunate that two of
the greatest masterpieces of sacred art — Bach's " Mass in B minor " and
Beethoven's " Mass in D " — are of such portentous length and difficulty that
performances of them are necessarily few and far between. Professor Terry's
study of the former is the expansion of a lecture delivered a few years ago to
c8 Aberdeen University Review
the Aberdeen Bach Society, and his friends were amply justified in their be-
lief that it was well worthy of a wider diffusion. It is true that "many have
taken in hand to set forth in order " their conceptions of the Mass : besides the
analyses embodied in the biographies by Spitta, Parry, and Schweitzer, no
fewer than five others are enumerated in the preface. But no prophecy is of
any private interpretation, and there is no reason to think that any or all of
these writers have exhausted the significance of this profound and many-sided
work. Professor Terry's enthusiastic interest in his subject, his intimate know-
ledge of the music and all that has been written upon it, and not least the
lucidity and distinction of his literary style, make him an ideal commentator.
Each number of the work is in turn the subject of exposition, in the course
of which attention is drawn to many points of interest which might escape
even an attentive listener, such as the varied emotional character of the
themes, the curious, and sometimes, it may be admitted, rather over-strained
ingenuity which so often succeeds in finding musical analogues to the dog-
matic propositions of the text, the reminiscences of ancient plain-song, and
the elaborate counterpoint of the instrumentation. After some prefatory ob-
servations, several interesting pages are devoted to the consideration of the
" borrowed movements ''. It is certainly a remarkable and not easily explic-
able fact that both Bach and Handel should have worked up in their greatest
productions — the " B Minor Mass " and the " Messiah," written at periods
when their inspiration was still flowing in fullest volume — such a large propor-
tion of material which they had already used, sometimes in works of a purely
secular nature. It is decidedly startling to be told that as many as eight of
the twenty- four numbers of the Mass are merely rifaccimenti of earlier works.
In this connexion it may be of some interest to note that the descending
ground-bass quoted from the " Crucifixus " is employed by Handel in the
opening chorus of "Susanna," also by Purcell.
The excursus on the borrowings is followed by another on the form of the
work, and another on Bach's realism as shown in the imitation of cock-crow-
ing in St. Matthew's "Passion," and elsewhere. Professor Terry seems to re-
gard such attempted reproductions as commendable. But here perhaps some
will be of opinion that his hero-worship has carried him a little too far. It
is at least certain that Beethoven's similar realisms in the *' Pastoral Sym-
phony ?' have been generally accounted mistakes from a severely artistic point
of view.
Professor Terry combats the popular idea that Bach's music is "cold and
academic," explaining the misconception as being due to the absence of
modern orchestral colouring. The explanation is doubtless true so far as it
goes, but it scarcely goes far enough. Bach has seemed " cold and academic "
to many who had no acquaintance with his orchestral writing.
The dictum that Handel's " Messiah " "lacks sublimity " will hardly com-
mand general assent. Most people, indeed, would rank sublimity as among
the outstanding characteristics of his genius. Nor would such an opinion be
without support from competent authorities. Rochlitz reports Mozart as say-
ing, " when Handel chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt ". It will not be
maintained that a thunderbolt lacks sublimity ! Sir George Grove could not
find sublimity even in Beethoven. But he found it in Handel. Such things
as the " Hallelujah " in the "Messiah," "He sent a thick darkness" and
" The people shall hear " in " Israel " filled him, he wrote, with awe.
Reviews 59
A prominent feature in Bach's religious music — in the " Passions " accord-
ing to St. Matthew and St. John, the oratorios, cantatas, and motetts — is the
inclusion of a great number of old German chorals or hymn-tunes, and these
impress many hearers to whom the composer's contrapuntal subtleties make
no appeal. In the ordinary editions no reference is made to the origin of the
chorals ; it is indeed probable that not a few take them to be the composition
of Bach himself. The second of Professor Terry's " Opuscula *' (to adopt
his own modest designation) deals with the " Passion " chorals and those in
the " Christmas '' and " Ascension " oratorios with a painstaking accuracy and
thoroughness which no reader can fail to appreciate. The melodies and
words of each are given, and these are followed by particulars regarding the
lives of the composer of the music and the author of the hymn, and the in-
struments employed in the orchestration. The book is naturally more for re-
ference than for continuous perusal, and one can hardly help wishing that the
necessarily somewhat dry historical details had been enlivened by a few criti-
cal appreciations such as those contained in the study of the Mass. Com-
ments as to the way, e.g., in which Bach alters the emotional effect of a
choral by varied harmonization, as in the case of " Herzlich thut mich ver-
langen " in the St. Matthew " Passion," could not have been other than inter-
esting and suggestive.
A full and carefully compiled index adds much to the usefulness of the
book.
It may be hoped that Professor Terry's elucidations will lead some at
least of his readers to cultivate a more intimate acquaintance with the music
of the mighty Cantor. It may be that they will find his strains
** Not harsh and crabbed, as dull fools suppose,
But musical as is Apollo's lute."
H. W. Wright.
A List of Works Relating to Scotland. Compiled by George F. Black,
Ph.D. The New York Public Library, 191 6. Pp. viii + 1233.
When there is deposited on one's library table a volume of over 1200 pages,
weighing close on half a stone, one's first feeling is that of weary resentment,
for the possibility of such weight proving to be all good material seems remote
indeed. But from the volume before us relief comes instantaneously, even
the first glance showing that here is no heterogeneous mass of undigested
material, but an orderly arrangement of valuable information, in which each
item is so placed as to give the maximum of help with the minimum of trouble.
New York Public Library has laid Scotland under a heavy debt by this publi-
cation— but a debt which will be lightly and gratefully borne, seeing that the
main work of it has been carried out by one of her own sons. That Library
possesses a quite remarkable collection of works connected with Scotland ; and
whether or not this fact influenced the appointment of a Scotsman as one of
its officials, certain it is that that appointment has been a most happy one ;
for Dr. G. F. Black himself, while admitting that his List has cost him an im-
mense amount of work, views it only as a labour of love done for his native
country. " For poor auld Scotland's sake " indeed, who as a matter of regret-
ful fact is much too poor to afford herself such a luxury. The book is primarily
a Subject catalogue of part of the Reference Department, but secondarily am
6o Aberdeen University Review
. excellent Bibliography of Scottish subjects, filling a niche in every library which
has long cried for an occupant.
The work originally appeared in parts in the " New York Public Library
Bulletin," in the same way as there appeared in the " Aberdeen University
Library Bulletin " Mr. Kellas Johnstone's " Concise Bibliography of Aber-
deen, Banff and Kincardine," reviewed in our fifth number. The ordinary
purpose of a Library Bulletin is fulfilled when it has given readers an outline
of the recent additions made to the books on the shelves : but many libraries
— especially the better American ones — seek to add a more lasting value to
their publications by including in them special bibliographies, which when
completed are of permanent use. Few attain the size and bulk of this one
(partly because few libraries could face the outlay involved in the printing
alone) and none as yet have approached it in the minute treatment of each
author's work: take, for instance, the name "Bulloch, J. M." or "Anderson,
P. J.," with sixty entries under the one head and fifty-eight under the other.
Some idea of the field covered may be gained from the Table of Contents,
numbering fifty-six subdivisions; and the fact that there are about 25,000
separate entries included in the volume It is not to be inferred that there are
25,000 books on Scottish subjects in the Department. The number of en-
tries is brought to this total by the valuable plan of analysing the Transactions
' of not only such well-known national societies as the Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland, the Highland and Agricultural Society, etc., but also those
smaller local Associations and Field Clubs which are more often ignored.
This is wholly admirable, for buried away in some of these less known
publications, may often be found curious and interesting bits of information,
perhaps contributed by some humble enthusiast, unknown outside his own
little circle, but worth consulting on this particular piece of knowledge of
which he has made himself master. And a subject catalogue is the ideal way
of cataloguing these items, for it gives them their right setting, and puts them
in the one place where they have a chance of being recalled to life and appre-
ciation.
The careful subdivisions, as of Genealogy into separate Families, and
of History into definite Chronological Periods, are of great value and simplify
the use of the Catalogue considerably. Subdivision, when kept within
bounds, can be a great aid to clearness, but it must be used judiciously. A
German periodical which begins simply and calmly as Band I, may develop
into Abtheilung i of Bd. I ; go on to Theil i of Abth. i of Bd. 1 ; then
Halfte I of Theil i of Abth. i of Bd. I ; increase to Lieferung i of Halfte
I of Theil I of Abth. i of Bd. I ; and end in a frenzy of Bogen i of Lief, i of
Halfte I of Theil i of Abth. i of Bd. I— worse than the House that Jack
built 1 Whether our inappreciation of this is a case of German clarity versus
British stupidity, or German stupidity versus British common sense, is not for
us to say, but in judging, one would like Neutrals to keep in view the lengths
to which this mania may drive the subdivider: there are German periodicals
where it is definitely provided (by the title page and contents) that the bound
volume shall conclude in the middle of a sentence. America is already
treading hard on Germany's heels in its readiness to spend time and money on
works requiring enormous patience and meticulous care. Witness such a
•catalogue as the Surgeon-General's, or " Poole's Index of Periodical Literature "
v(now alas! defunct), or the A.L.A. Catalogue of portraits; and it is an
Reviews 6i
American, Mr. Melvil Dewey, who has originated a system of classification so-
ingenious that, in this country at least, nearly every library has adopted it in >
part — and this in spite of the obstacle raised by his weird phonetic spelling.
Even there the passion for clearness over-rides phonetic principles and the
weaker brethren are enlightened by Mr. Dewey's helpful cross references,
such as "Tongue see Tung," or " Health see Helth".
It would be of great interest to know how this valuable collection of Scot- -
tish material came to be formed by the New York Public Library. There
must have been, at some time far back, other librarians with the same keen,
enthusiasm for Scotland that possesses Dr. Black, endowed with the true
librarian instinct for what may prove valuable in future years, and the strength
of will to avert the bonfire which would seem so desirable to uninstructed
eyes. In a very few cases the origin of a volume is given in a note as
" From the library of R. L. Stevenson," appended to four items. One wonders
how they gravitated here : did they come from Samoa after his death, or had
he perhaps left them behind him as part payment to the landlord, at the little
Irish shilling-a-night inn, where he slept on his first visit to New York — before •
Fame had discovered his whereabouts ? No doubt the large Scoto- American
element in the city would always encourage the formation of a Scottish section >
in the Public Library, and justify a considerable expenditure upon it : but
many items known to Dr. Black one would think could hardly have been in
the market — such as that small publication, the appearance of which wrests
from the late Professor Blackie the honour of having first originated the agi-
tation for the establishment of a Celtic Chair in Scotland. This is a Petition j
(of the year 1835) to the House of Commons in favour of instituting in Aber-
deen University a professorship of Gaelic, **so useful, so necessary, and so
important a branch of education " — a. petition long ago forgotten by the Uni-
versity authorities, but hiding safely away in a corner of New York, and start-
ing suddenly to light when the subject once more has struggled to the fronts
and gained a brilliant victory in the appointment of Mr. John Fraser as the
first Lecturer on Celtic in Aberdeen University.
No subject-cataloguer can hope to escape criticism — if only for the fact
that most people have a strong conviction that where they expect to find an
entry, there only is the proper place for it — so Dr. Black will not be surprised
if exception be taken to certain of his classifications. The thorny question of
how to group Government publications dealing with Scottish affairs, must have
troubled him as many others, more especially as he would not be likely meekly
to follow the example of the British Museum, which with sublime arrogance
puts all doubtful cases under " England ". But it is not clear on what prin-
ciple he works when we find the Census Returns of 1861 under "Scotland'^
and those of 1871 under " Great Britain ". Probably the best plan is to put
under "Scotland" anything from a body existent before 1707 — such as Acts^
of the old Scots Parliament — but under " Great Britain " anything from an
office of later date — such as Reports of the Scotch Education Department.
Henceforward all researchers on Scottish subjects, writers as well as readers,
will turn to Dr. Black for guidance, and will rarely come away disappointed.
In his Introduction his patriotic fervour glows visibly, and from his place of ~
exile he pays compliments to his native land, which he could never venture to
offer were he still a resident here — even as no Scotch son would praise his -
mother to her face. But after all, his greatest compliment is the volume-
62 Aberdeen University Review
itself, for only deep devotion to his subject could sustain a man through the
arduous labour of such a work ; and its excellence is the finest tribute he
could pay to the country which bore him, and gave him his first lessons in
accuracy and concentration of purpose.
Maud Storr Best.
A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. By Alexander Souter,
M.A. (Magdalen College), sometime Yates Professor of New Testament
Greek in Mansfield College [now Professor of Humanity in the Uni-
versity of Aberdeen]. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1916. Pp.
viii + 289.
This volume completes the trilogy of handy works on the New Testament
prepared by Professor Souter, the other two being his edition of the New
Testament in Greek (Clarendon Press, 19 10 and 191 1 ; reprinted 191 3) and
*'The Text and Canon of the New Testament" (Duckworth, 1913).
Students of the New Testament are to be congratulated on the publica-
tion of so opportune and useful a lexicon. In English there is nothing like
it, and its author has good reason for his hope that it will prove of value not
only to beginners in the subject but also to experts. For it is compact and
clear to the most ordinary intelligence and devoid of theological and linguistic
subtleties (as all lexicons of works written for the earliest Christians should be
but not always are). It is enriched and controlled by the latest contributions
to our knowledge of the koivt}, or common Greek spoken and written
throughout the whole Graeco-Roman world ; in connection with which Pro-
fessor Souter pays a well-deserved tribute to the labours of Professors Moulton
and George Milligan. And throughout it bears the stamp of Professor
Souter's own erudition and of his powers in the definition of words and the
discrimination of their various shades of meaning. The work is thus both
comprehensive and original ; and to our admiration for these qualities must
be added our gratitude for its compactness of statement and freedom from
superfluities. One welcome feature is the number of references to patristic
literature.
The virtues of the work are conspicuous alike in the articles upon the
particles and prepositions, the use of each of which is carefully and clearly
analysed, and in those upon the classical terms of religion and theology.
Proper names are included, and this is the only part of the volume in which
the present writer has felt inclined to " ask for more ". It would have added
but little to the volume to give a few lines on the boundaries of the great
divisions of Palestine in New Testament times. " Galilee^ a district towards
the southern end of the Roman province Syria '* is an inadequate description ;
the position might have been more exactly defined and (as in other cases) the
Hebrew original and meaning of the name, and surely a notice and explana-
tion of raXiXata tZxv c^vwr. Similarly, we miss iripav tqv ^lopSdvov (Peraea) ;
lovSaia has but a line and *lSovfmia one and a bit. '* Ituraan, an adjective ap-
plied to a district (x^pa) also called Trachonitic, about sixty miles east of the
Sea of Galilee " is hardly satisfactory. The Ituraean territory was not identical
with the Trachonitic although it may have overlapped it. There were Itur-
aeans in Mount Lebanon about 6 a.d. ("Ephemeris Epigraphica," 1881, 537-
42), and Strabo puts them in Anti-Lebanon (xvi. ii. 16) and from Josephus
Reviews 63
it appears that their domains came down on Ulatha and Paneas to the north
of the Lake of Galilee. But all these are small matters.
We append some illustrations of how Professor Souter treats both the pre-
positions and the religious terms, and only wish we had room to quote the
longer illuminative articles on ev^ta, x^P^?, lAux^-
€15, (a) into; till; for ; (b) ets r6 c. infin. generally final, but also expressing tendency,
result, e.g. Rom. xii 3, 2 Cor. viii 6, Gal. iii 17, content of command or entreaty, e.g. i
Thess. ii 12, or simply = explanatory infinitive, i Thess. iv 9 ; (c) encroaches on iv and
= »n, e.g. John i 18, Ac. vii 12, 2 Cor. xi 10, i John v 8 : ety eKaT6v, &c., a hundredfold.
/ivffriipiov, a secret, Mk. iv 11 and parallels: also (a) a symbol containing a secret
meaning. Rev. xvii 5, cf. Eph. v 32 ; (b) the meaning of such a symbol. Rev. i 20, xvii 7 ;
(c) as the counterpart of it.iroKd\v\f/is, a secret to be revealed, the secret purpose of God in
His dealings with man, a Divine secret, especially the inclusion of the Gentiles as well as
the Jews in the scope of the Messiah's beneficent reign ; (d) the sum of the Christian faith,
I Tim. iii g, 16.
cxXiyxvov (by-form a"ir\dyxya [fem.] in Phil, ii i, if text be genuine), usually plur.
o'ir\(£7xi'a, the nobler viscera, heart, &c., and especially, Hebraistically, as the seat of cer-
tain feelings, or from the observed effect of emotion on them, compassion and pity.
6 vths Tov av9p^irou, (lit. the Son of the Man, an Aramaistic expression, originally equi-
valent to &vdpuiros, cf. Mk. iii 28, Rev. i 13, the man, the human being, simply, but) at
some stage (cf. Dan. vii 13 and Parables of JSnoch for the growth in the use of the expres-
sion) become a Messianic title, used by Jesus Himself, representing the whole human race
in the one Man, the Son of Man, who has to suffer but will be glorified, Mk. viii 29, 31 f.,
Mt. xvi 13, 27 f., cf. Lk. ix 18, 22 f., &c. : a similar Hebraism with genitives indicating
qualities, &c., aireiQeias, iiircoKiias, yfhvns (cf. also ^ia$6\ov), used of persons who so per-
fectly exemplify these qualities, &c., that they can be spoken of as having a family like-
ness to them (cf. r4Kvov).
CiESAR's Wars with the Germans. W. Chalmers Bowie, M.A., Principal
Latin Master at the Central School and Junior Students' Centre, Aber-
deen. Oxford : B. H. Blackwell.
This is an excellent little book edited by a well-known Aberdeen teacher,
who was at one time assistant to the Professor of Latin in the University. It
consists of extracts from Caesar's " Gallic War," and deals specially with the
Germans — a fact which should make the reading matter of special interest at
the present moment. The text has been simplified and graduated so as to
make it suitable for beginners. The book also contains a vocabulary and
some extremely useful notes. It is well printed and strongly bound, and
should make a valuable acquisition to school literature.
The War, the Nation and the Church. Two addresses to the General
Assembly of the United Free Church of Scotland, May, 19 16. By
the Moderator, Sir George Adam Smith. London : Hodder &
Stoughton. Pp. 46.
The striking addresses of the Principal as Moderator of the United Free
Church General Assembly attracted much attention at the time of their de-
livery, and their presentation in pamphlet form is particularly welcome. In
the opening address, the Principal gave a remarkably clear survey of the
origin of the war and of " the cause for which the Nation contends, and why,
being Christians, we are at one with our Government in fighting for it under
arms ". It was most noticeable perhaps for its argumentation on the latter
64 Aberdeen University Review
point, and the effective reply given to religious objectors and political pacifists.
The closing address was in a sense an expansion of the general theme of the
opening one — a eulogy of the British Empire and the work it has accomplished
in the world, accompanied, however, by a frank examination of " the sins which
still beset us," into an adequate conviction of which the war has been needed
to startle us. Many national defects, representing so much " waste " —
educational waste, the waste of riches, the waste of time and strength by all
classes of society — were unsparingly dealt with ; there, as elsewhere through-
out both addresses, much matter for national and individual reflection was
suggested.
R. A.
The Battle of Jutland Bank, May 31-June i, 1916. The Dispatches of
Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty. Edited by
C. Sanford Terry. Oxford University Press. Pp. 95.
This pamphlet reproduces in handy form the official British account of the
naval battle of Jutland Bank, an event of great historical importance quite
apart from its bearing on the war. It was, as Professor Terry points out,
" the first fleet action fought by the German navy in its brief history, the
first fought by the British navy since Trafalgar ". The two dispatches tell
their own tale, but there is a decided advantage in having them prefaced by
Professor Terry's illuminative " Introductory Note," in which he describes,
the four distinct phases of the engagement and exposes the absurdity of the
pretensions put forward by the Germans that victory lay with them. The
sally of the German Fleet from Kiel was associated, in the Professor's opinion,
with a Teutonic disposition " to obtain a political effect by theatrical means,"
and in order to support this theatricality recourse was had to the deliberate
falsification of logs and charts, to give the impression that in the engagement
that ensued the Fleet had emerged triumphant.
We have received "Bibby's Annual for 1916 " (edited by Joseph Bibby),
the War Number, lavishly illustrated by portraits, coloured reproductions of
paintings old and new, and allegorical pieces. The keynote is that of im-
provement of our social conditions by the disappearance of personal class and
national selfishness, the overthrow of the power of Alcohol, " Art as a Spiritual
Force," and a more Christian organization of industry and inspiration of society.
There are also articles on Theosophy, Recuperative Possibilities after the War,
Education and Humanism, The Problem of India and the Empire, Alcohol
and National Efficiency and other subjects.
University Topics.
BEQUEST OF ;^io,ooo BY SIR JAMES SIVEWRIGHT.
jHE late Sir James Sivewright, K.C.M.G. (whose death is
recorded in the Obituary, p. 86), bequeathed by his
will ;£"i 0,000 to the Senatus of the University of Aber-
deen, to provide bursaries for students from the county
of Moray. A bequest of ;£^5ooo was made to the
Managing Committee of Milne's Institution, Fochabers,
for a similar purpose. Sir James Sivewright declaring
that he made these bequests because " Recognizing
that whatever success I may have achieved in life has been entirely due to the
upbringing of my parents and mainly to the education they so successfully
struggled to give me through the media of Milne's Institution, Fochabers, and
the University of Aberdeen ".
The validity of the will has been challenged by Lady Sivewright; but
we understand the bequest to the University remains unaffected, except as to
the period when it will become available.
THE CHAIR OF ENGINEERING.
The bequest for the foundation of a Chair of Engineering made by the
late Mr. William Jackson, Thorngrove, Aberdeen (see Vol. III., 73), has be-
come operative by the death of the founder's widow, who was left the life-rent
of the money assigned. Mrs. Jackson left the residue of her own estate —
(i) to establish a Jackson Scholarship or Scholarships in Engineering at
Robert Gordon's College or at the University, or both, "in order to per-
petuate the memory of her husband"; and (2) in supplement (so far as her
trustees may consider necessary) of her husband's bequest for the establish-
ment of a Chair of Engineering or for its equipment.
PAINTING OF MARISCHAL COLLEGE QUADRANGLE.
Sir James Roderick Duff M'Grigor, Bart., grandson of Sir James
M'Grigor, the celebrated Director-General of the Army Medical Department,
who was thrice Rector of Marischal College (1826, 1827 and 1841), has pre-
sented the University with a painting of the quadrangle of Marischal College
as it was before the recent additions and including the obelisk to the memory
of Sir James M'Grigor, now removed to the Duthie Park. The painting
is by the late James Giles, R.S.A., and was executed in i86i. The fol-
lowing description of the picture was given in the "Aberdeen Free Press "
of 14 June, public intimation of the presentation having been made at the
meeting of the University Court on the previous day : —
" Unity is secured by the Peterhead granite monument — now in the
Duthie Park — in the foreground, and the artist has carefully avoided the mecha-
5
66 Aberdeen University Review
nical by placing it slightly to the right-hand side. In the background are the
College buildings, in which the Mitchell Tower is noticeably absent, and
flanking the gables are trees which, while not really accessories, secure pic-
torial completeness. The buildings and the obelisk display a fine sense of
architecture in their careful drawing, and there is an impression of strength
and mass in the composition. The picture is full of light and air, suggesting
spiritual features expected in a University. There is breadth and freedom in
the sweep of sky, and this openness is characteristic of the whole picture,
without disturbing the repose. Shadows are handled with a nice delicacy,
and the colour provides a pleasing harmony of tones, even in the scarlet
gowns of the figures in the quadrangle. The composition, the careful drawing,
and the chromatic harmonies are very sensitively conceived and executed, and
the picture as a whole is a very valuable addition to the University collec-
tion."
ELECTION OF ASSESSORS.
At the meeting of the General Council of the University on 14 October,
the Business Committee reported that the term of office had expired of two
of the Council's Assessors in the University Court — Colonel Rev. James
Smith, elected for the unexpired portion of the late Colonel William John-
ston's term of office, and Colonel John Scott Riddell, M.V.O., elected in
place of Dr. Albert Westland (see Vol. III., 174). It was agreed not to
proceed with an election, but to ask the Secretary for Scotland to make an
order under the Parliament and Local Elections Act, 191 6, continuing
Colonel Smith and Colonel Scott Riddell in office for another year, and em-
powering the University Court to deal with any casual vacancy occurring
during that period.
Dr. Thomas Milne, Principal Stewart, Gordon's College; Dr. Charles
M'Leod, Grammar School ; Dr. John Rennie, and Mr. Theodore Watt were
elected to vacancies on the Business Committee.
Mr. William Grant, lecturer in the English department, was appointed to
the vacancy in the Committee of Management of the Review caused by the
death of Company Quartermaster-Sergeant Charles McGregor.
JOINT DIVINITY CLASSES.
Owing to the paucity of divinity students, one of the many consequences
of the war, it has been arranged to unite the divinity classes at the University
and at the Aberdeen United Free Church College this session. The in-
augural address to the united session was delivered on 1 1 October in King's
College Chapel by Principal Iverach, of the United Free Church College, the
subject being the appropriate one of "Comradeship"; and Principal Iverach
is to occupy temporarily the Chair of Biblical Criticism, a successor to Pro-
fessor Nicol not having been yet appointed. The divinity classes are to be
conducted at King's College till Christmas, and thereafter at the United Free
Church College. One result of the working union is that some of the Pro-
fessors will be at liberty to undertake other work ; and it is understood that
Professor Cairns in particular will continue the ministerial work among the
men at the front which he has been prosecuting for some time. A similar
working arrangement has been concluded between Edinburgh University and
the New College, but the two divinity faculties in Glasgow are not uniting.
University Topics 67
THE MURTLE LECTURES.
The first two Lectures in this Course during 1916-17 were delivered — on
29 October by Rev. Norman Maclean, D.D. — subject," After Armageddon" ;
and on 19 November by Sir Donald MacAlister, K.C.B., Principal of the
University of Glasgow — subject, " The Westminster Standards of the Scottish
Churches ". Two more will be given in February by the Right Rev. John
Brown, D.D., Minister of Bellahouston, and Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland ; and by Rev. Robert S. Simpson, D.D.,
of the High United Free Church, Edinburgh. We hope to print Sir Donald
MacAlister's lecture in the next number of the Review.
THE ORDINANCE ON THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION.
A special meeting of the General Council of the University was held
on 15 July to receive a report by the Business Committee anent the Ordin-
ance on the preliminary examination, promoted by the four University Courts
in Scotland. This matter has been discussed by the Council on three dif-
ferent occasions, and at its April meeting a motion was adopted setting forth
" that it would be more reasonable to discuss with the Scotch Education De-
partment the need for a preliminary examination before setting up the ma-
chinery for such an examination," the Council at the same time continuing
its remit to the Business Committee to consider the subject. The Ordinance
was subsequently laid before Parliament ; and the Business Committee recom-
mended that the Council should petition both Houses requesting that the royal
assent be withheld until, as suggested, a conference has taken place between
the four Universities and the Education Department.
Mr. D. M. M. Milligan presided, and moved that the Council petition
Parliament to take steps to prevent the Ordinance coming into force. He said
an unnecessary new annual expense would be entailed by the creation of a
Scottish Universities' Entrance Board with a central office, secretary and staff,
as proposed under the Ordinance. The Ordinance would also stereotype the
preliminary examination, which year by year was being superseded by the
leaving certificate examination, and as it was drafted before the war it took no
account of the altered educational outlook produced by the war. He thought
also it would be more business-like that the Universities should confer with
the Education Department before the setting up of expensive and elaborate
machinery, instead of, as was proposed, giving the Board power after it was
constituted to enter into negotiations with the Education Department for
the purpose of framing an agreement for co-operation with respect to the
conduct or correlation of the preliminary and leaving certificate examinations.
Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray seconded.
Mr. W. Stewart Thomson moved that the Council take no further action.
He thought they had carried the thing just as far as it could be carried with
effect. The real reason at the back of the proposal to oppose the Ordinance
was that the Scotch Education Department was becoming more and more an
encroaching power. It really came to be this — that our educational affairs in
Scotland were going to be Prussianized and bureaucratized by putting them
into the hands of one particular man, who was really the Department. He
did not blame the University for going against this idea, because it was simply
bringing them under the heel of the Department, which meant one single indi-
vidual. What they should agitate for was an Educational Council for Scot-
land, whereby educational bodies would have a proper say.
68 Aberdeen University Review
The amendment was not seconded, and the motion became the unanimous
finding of the meeting.
The proposed petition was then submitted in the following terms : —
That an Ordinance made by the University Courts of the Universities of St.
Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, entitled Ordinance General No. 4
(Regulations as to Preliminary Examinations), was laid before your Honourable
House on or about the first day of June, 1916.
That by the said Ordinance it is provided that a new Scottish Universities*
Entrance Board shall be constituted with a permanent central office, a secretary and
a staff.
That the said Ordinance also lays down new regulations for the subjects and
standard of preliminary examinations in arts, science, medicine, and law.
That at a meeting of the General Council of the University of Aberdeen it was
unanimously resolved, on the motion of the chairman, Mr. D. M. M. Milligan, seconded
by Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray, to petition your Honourable House to present an ad-
dress to His Majesty the King under Section 20, Sub-section (i) of the Universities
(Scotland) Act, i88g, praying His Majesty to withhold his assent from the above-named
Ordinance, or to take such other steps as Parliament may deem proper to prevent said
Ordinance from coming into force.
That the petitioners consider it eminently desirable that the said Ordinance should
not come into force, and that for the following reasons : —
(i) That the Ordinance was drafted before the beginning of the war, and takes no
account of the altered educational outlook.
(2) That the new permanent annual expenditure entailed by the Ordinance is
unnecessary.
(3) That the proportion of students who enter the Universities by means of the
Preliminary Examination is decreasing, being now about 30 per cent (10*4 per cent by
the Preliminary Examination and 20 per cent partly by the Preliminary Examination
and partly by the Leaving Certificate, etc.), while the proportion who enter by means
of the Leaving Certificate of the Scotch Education Department alone is increasing,
being now more than 70 per cent ; and that it would consequently be only reasonable
for the Universities, before stereotyping a system of preliminary examinations more
expensive than that hitherto followed, to confer with the Scotch Education Department,
with a view to joint action being taken by the Universities and the Department,
whereby one examination might be made to serve the purposes of a Leaving Certificate
Examination and the University Entrance Examination.
It was remitted to a Committee to finally adjust the terms of the petition
and forward it to Parliament.
In a debate in the House of Commons on 9 August, Mr. H. J. Tennant,
the new Secretary for Scotland, stated that the Scotch Education Department
viewed with some alarm the Ordinance in its present form, and it would be
suspended in order that, in conference with the Universities, some modifica-
tion might be made upon it which would be acceptable to the education
authorities. No Order in Council would in the meantime be issued to give
it effect, and any amended Ordinance would have to come before Parliament.
THE LATE LORD KITCHENER.
At a meeting of the University Court on 1 3 June, Principal Sir George
Adam Smith (who presided) said it would be in harmony with other public
bodies and in consonance with their own feelings, and especially because of
the fact that there was such a large number of the members of this University
on active service, that they should put on record some expression of grief at
the sudden removal of so great a national leader as Lord Kitchener. He
proposed the following resolution ; —
In the name of the University and her many members on active service with the forces
of the King, the University Court places on record its expression of profound grief on the
death of Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, His Majesty's Secretary for War.
I
►
University Topics 69
By his sudden removal in the providence of God, the Kingdom and Empire, in the midst of
the gravest crisis in their history, have lost one of their most powerful and trusted leaders,
the example of whose faithfulness to duty, with the memory of his illustrious services in
raising and organizing the new armies, will be held for ever in honour and gratitude by a
sorrowing people.
He did not know to whom they should send an extract of this record, but
he thought that, considering that Lord Kitchener was Lord Rector of the
University of Edinburgh, a copy of this minute might be sent to that Univer-
sity Court with an additional expression of the sympathy of Aberdeen Uni-
versity with the University of Edinburgh in the loss of its illustrious Lord
Rejptor.
Lord Provost Taggart seconded, and the resolution was adopted unani-
mously.
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE WAR.
Further lists issued of honours awarded to those who have earned special
distinction for services in connexion with the war, and lists of those mentioned
in dispatches, include the following University men : —
The Distinguished Service Order has been awarded to —
Captain Joseph Ellis Milne, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1888; M.D., 1894).
Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Robert James M'Kay, Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders (Arts Student, 1899-1900) — previously
awarded the Military Cross.
The Military Cross has been awarded to —
Captain Archibald S. K. Anderson, R.A.M.C. (attached to the
Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment) (M.A., 1909 ; M.B.,
1914).
Captain (temporary) William Campbell, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1905).
Captain (temporary) John Moir Mackenzie, R.A.M.C. (attached to
the 6th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, T.F.) (M.A.,
1911; M.B., 1915).
Captain John Boyd Orr, R.A.M.C. (Researcher in Animal Nutri-
tion).
Lieutenant (temporary) Peter Mortimer Turnbull (attached and
Royal West Surrey Regiment) (M.B., 1901).
Second Lieutenant Rev. John Spence Grant, Gordon Highlanders
(M.A., 191 1 ; B.D., 1915).
Second Lieutenant Allan Hendry, Gordon Highlanders (medical
student).
Second Lieutenant Donald Eraser Jenkins, Seaforth Highlanders
(agricultural student).
The Territorial Decoration has been conferred upon —
Major Frank Fleming, ist Highland Brigade, R.F.A. (alumnus).
The following have been mentioned in dispatches : —
Lieutenant-Colonel A. H. Lister, ist Scottish General Hospital
(M.B., 1895). (Seep. 85.)
Lieutenant-Colonel P. J. Lumsden, Indian Medical Service (M.B.,
1886).
Lieutenant-Colonel A. D. Milne, R.A.M.C., British East Africa
(M.B., 1892).
yo Aberdeen University Review
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Robert Bruce, 7th Gordon
Highlanders (M.A., 1893; M.D.) — second mention.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) H. F. Lyall Grant, Royal
Artillery (M.A., 1898).
Major (temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) W. G. Maydon, R.A.M.C.
(M.B., 1901).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) A. M. Rose, R.A.M.C.
(M.B., 1899).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) G. A. Smith, 8th King's Own
(Royal Lancaster) Regiment (law student, 1887-88) — pre-
viously awarded the D.S.O.
Major J. W. Garden, Highland Brigade, R.F.A. (M.A., 1889 ; B.L.).
Major W. D. Ritchie, Indian Medical Service (M.B., 1899).
Captain Edmund Lewis Reid, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1910).
Captain James Smith Stewart, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1913) — twice pre-
viously mentioned in dispatches.
Captain and Adjutant W. S. Trail, 57th (Wilde's) Rifles, Indian
Frontier Force (alumnus, 190 1-3) — previously awarded the
Military Cross.
Lieutenant (temporary Captain) Robert Adam, 7th Gordon High-
landers (M.A., 1900; B.L.).
Lieutenant William M 'Hardy, British East Africa (M.A., 1907).
Lance-Sergeant Benjamin Knowles, King Edward's Horse (M.B.,
1907).
Rev. J. T. Soutter, St. Andrew's Church, Nairobi, British East
Africa, temporary Chaplain, 4th class (M.A., 1910).
Seven officers of the R.A.M.C. — members of the staff of the ist Scottish
General Hospital, Aberdeen — volunteered for service, in response to an urgent
call for medical men for hospital work at a depot in India. They received
appointments and left Aberdeen early in August. They are —
Lieutenant-Colonel P. Mitchell, M.D., the officer in command of the
I St Scottish General Hospital.
Major C. H. Usher, M.B., F.R.C.S. (Edin.).
Captain T. H. W. Alexander, M.B.
Captain H. J. A. Longmore, M.B.
Captain C. M. Nicol, M.A., M.B.
Captain R. Richards, M.A., M.B., D.P.H.
Captain H. E. Smith, M.A., M.B., Ch.B.
With the exception of Captain Alexander, they are all graduates of the
University. Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Mitchell has been in command of the
I St Scottish General Hospital since the outbreak of war.
They were accompanied by —
Captain Gray Brown, Stonehaven.
Captain Norman Davidson, Peterhead.
Captain John Findlay, Crimond.
Captain Howie, Strathdon.
Major James Smart, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1894 ; M.B., 1899) was appointed
officer in command of the ist Scottish General Hospital in succession to
University Topics 71
Lieutenant-Colonel P. Mitchell ; and has since been promoted Lieutenant-
Colonel. Captain Frederick Philip (M.B., 1898) succeeded Major Smart.
Emeritus-Professor Sir Alexander Ogston, K.C.V.O., is serving with the
British Ambulance attached to the Italian Army stationed near Udine. The
administrator of the unit is Mr. George Macaulay Trevelyan, the author of
three works on Garibaldi's campaigns (son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan).
The ambulances of this unit were the first to enter Gorizia at the time of its
occupation by the Italians.
Major the Honourable James Cran (M.B., 1895 ; M.D., 1904), Com-
manding the British Honduras Territorial Force, has been promoted to the
local rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Lt.-Col. Cran has resigned his appointment
as an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of the Colony, but in view
of the fact that this resignation has been caused by pressure of military services
still being rendered by him, the Governor has been authorised to accord him
personal precedence equal to that which he would have had if he had remained
in the Council. The Colony of British Honduras has contributed two Con-
tingents, amounting to some 540 men, to the British West Indies Regiment,
now on an Eastern front. For the preliminary training and dispatch of the
second and larger of these Contingents, over 400 in number, Lt.-Col. Cran
has been responsible ; in addition, his command includes a local defence force
of several hundred Territorials.
Captain Alistair R. Grant, R.A.M.C. (T.), (M.B., 1913), has been O.C. of
an Ambulance Train in France for some time. During the visit of the King
in August, he was presented to His Majesty by the Director of Medical Services.
His Majesty asked him several interesting questions bearing on his work, and
complimented him on the adequacy and efficiency of the arrangements for the
conveyance of the sick and wounded.
Major Arthur George Troup, Royal Marine Artillery (M.B., 1906 ; M.D.),
who served on H.M.S. " Shannon " in the Jutland battle, has been recom-
mended for brevet or early promotion.
Rev. William Lindsay Gordon (M.A., 1893 ; B.D. [Edinburgh]), minister
of the South Parish Church, Aberdeen, who has been on duty as a military
chaplain on the Western front for a year, returned to Aberdeen in September
to take up his ordinary duties, but was immediately asked to resume his work
as a chaplain at the front. This he decided to do, but in the circumstances,
and as his absence was likely to be a long one, he resigned his charge.
Rev. Robert Robertson (M.A., 1886; B.D.), minister of the parish of
Logie-Coldstone, Aberdeenshire (formerly of Skene), has undertaken the
driving of " The Manse " Ambulance in France for six months, commencing
in August. " The Manse " Ambulance was subscribed by occupants of the
manses of the Church of Scotland at the end of last year.
Miss Doris Livingston Mackinnon (B.Sc, 1906 ; D.Sc, 1914), Assistant
to the Professor of Natural History in Dundee University College, has been
appointed a protozoologist at the First Western General Hospital, Liverpool.
The Executive Committee of the Lord Kitchener National Memorial
Fund was presented with one of the finest houses in Regent's Park, London,
as a home for disabled officers. Sir David Ferrier (LL.D., 1881) is consult-
ing physician.
Indirectly at least, the University has some interest in the unique circum-
stances that a French graduate is serving as a private in a battalion of Gordon
72 Aberdeen University Review
Highlanders recently stationed at Aberdeen. This is the Chevalier Ami-
Belin, LL.B. (Licencie en Droit Science Politicale), of Marseilles University,
who was chief of the delegation of French University Students who took part
in the Quatercentenary celebrations in 1906.
SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES STUDENTS' HOSTEL FOR BELGIAN REFUGEES.
On the establishment of this Hostel by the Glasgow Corporation, repre-
sentatives of the four Scottish Universities undertook to endeavour to raise
among their students the sum of ;£^5oo required for the maintenance of the
Hostel for one year 1916-17. Of this the proportion of ;£ioo was proposed
for the students of Aberdeen University. With the approval of the Senatus
the Students' Representative Council organized three collections during the
three University terms, and the result has been the dispatch to the Glasgow
Corporation's Hostels Committee of ;£'io3 13s. 6d. This includes a sum of
j£2o derived from a concert of Russian sacred music by the Choir of the
University Chapel and by a Lecture on modern music by Mr. Henderson,
Organist of Glasgow University. The concert was arranged by Miss Elizabeth
Christie, the leader of the Choir. To Miss Christie and Mr. Henderson are
due the warm thanks of the University for their services.
The Principal and Mr. Forbes, Convener of the Executive of the S.R.C.,
visited the Scottish Students' Hostel in Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow, and
had a full opportunity of inspecting the admirable equipment and organiza-
tion of the institution. For their splendid care of the many thousands of
Scotland's Belgian guests the Glasgow Corporation deserve the warm thanks
and the continued liberal support of the whole Scottish people.
A GERMAN UNIVERSITY AT GHENT.
The Germans have nominally established a University at Ghent. As M.
Emile Cammaerts has sarcastically put it — " The Germans who burnt the Uni-
versity of Louvain and plundered the University of Liege are now encourag-
ing higher education in conquered Belgium ". The new University is
professedly designed for the Flemish population of the country, and is a rather
ingenious attempt to carry out a proposal which was being discussed in
Belgium before the war — to set up a Flemish University at Ghent to allow the
Flemings to take their degrees in their mother language. But the Flemings
will have nothing to do with the new institution — under German auspices at
least. Flemish Professors have refused appointments in it — and been impri-
soned for contumacy in consequence ; and an active propaganda among
Flemish prisoners of war to secure students by promising them their liberty in
return for their attendance at the classes has not proved particularly successful.
Such teaching staff as has been gathered together is mainly composed of Dutch
Professors who were formerly Professors in Germany ; very few of them are
Flemings, and some of them do not even know the Flemish language ! The so-
called " Flemish University of Ghent " is contemptuously dismissed by M.
Cammaerts as consisting of " a medley of naturalized Germans and obscure
Flemish youths, with a sprinkling of traitors, on the professors' side ; a few
misinformed and demoralized prisoners on the students' side ".
Personalia.
The Principal, in his capacity as Moderator of the General Assembly of the
United Free Church, was busily engaged during the autumn. He made a
three weeks' tour of the Western Isles and of Orkney and Shetland, visiting
in particular Stornoway, Harris, Wick, Thurso, and Kirkwall. It is many years
since a Moderator of the Church has been seen in the Orkneys, and the visit of
Sir George Adam Smith aroused much interest. He preached at all the towns
named, and had conferences with various congregations and with representa-
tive office-bearers. He also visited nme higher-grade schools, and addressed
two public meetings at Stornoway and Kirkwall on educational subjects. He
met, in informal consultation, the members of several School Boards. Sir
George's tour was greatly facilitated by the courtesy of the Admiralty, which
placed patrol boats at his disposal ; and he visited a portion of the Grand Fleet,
worshipping with and addressing some 800 Presbyterian sailors, men and
officers, in a memorable service. The Principal was gazetted recently a
Chaplain in the Army, first class, with the rank of Colonel ; and arrangements
were made for his paying a visit to the Troops in conjunction with the Modera-
tor of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Among other distinc-
tions conferred on the Principal of late are his election as a Fellow of the
British Academy and the presentation of a handsome illuminated address from
his class-fellows in the New College, Edinburgh (1875-79) — fifteen in number.
The address congratulated Sir George on his appointment to the Moderator-
ship and on the distinction with which he discharged its duties, and then pro-
ceeded : —
Among our vivid memories of happy College days there is no name that continues to
grip the affection of our hearts more firmly than your own. The unselfishness of your
nature, the vivacity of your spirit, the breadth of your mind, the warmth of your heart, the
magnetism of your personality were features of your character which we ever delight to re-
call. We have watched with deep interest the development of your distinguished career
through its successive stages of pattorate, professorship, and principalship. It is our fervent
prayer that your eminent services in preaching, scholarship, and social reform may be long
continued to the Church, to the nation, and to the world. Your recent bereavement in the
loss of your gallant ion on the battle-field touches a tender chord in our hearts, and we
humbly crave the sad privilege of mingling our tears with yours as you weep for your soldier
boy.
The University of St. Andrews has conferred the honorary degree of D.D.
upon Rev. George Walker (M.A., 1861 ; B.D., 1867), minister emeritus of
the parish of Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, and author of a volume of
Sermons and Addresses. (See Vol. III., 184, 271.) By this conferment the
Walker family has now four honorary degrees to its credit, sharing this ex-
ceptional honour with the Ogilvie and the Morrison families. The four
74- Aberdeen University Review
Walker brothers are Mr. Alexander Walker, merchant, Aberdeen, and Dean
of Guild of the city from 1872 to 1880, now deceased (LL.D., Aberdeen,
1895); Deputy Surgeon-General William Walker, Indian Medical Service,
now deceased (LL.D., Aberdeen, 1885); Mr. Robert Walker, the Registrar
of the University (LL.D., Aberdeen, 1907) (see Vol. IH., 271); and Rev.
George Walker (D.D., St. Andrews, 19 16). They are sons of the late Mr.
William Walker, merchant, Aberdeen.
Professor Macdonald has leave of absence, and is not lecturing this session.
He had been engaged during the summer upon Government work in London,
and he is to continue this during the winter. The classes in Mathematics are
being conducted by the Lecturer, Mr. James Goodwillie.
Professor J. Arthur Thomson has begun the second series of his Gifford
Lectures at St. Andrews University, dealing in this part of his subject with
" The Evolution of the Realm of Organisms **.
Professors Cowan and Davidson have been reappointed representatives of
the Senatus on the Milne Bequest Trust, and Professor Mackintosh has
been reappointed a governor of Milne's Institution, Fochabers, on behalf of
the Senatus.
Three graduates have recently completed twenty-five years' service as
ministers: Rev. James Beattie Burnett (M.A., 1886; B.D., 1889), minister
of Fetteresso Parish Church, Kincardineshire, who was ordained as minister of
Aberlemno, Forfarshire, on 24 September, 1 891, and was appointed to Stonehaven
(Fetteresso) in 1905; Rev. William Grant (M.A., 1882; B.D., 1887) appointed
parish minister of Drumblade, Aberdeenshire, in 1891 ; and Rev. Angus
Murray Macdonald (M.A., 1883), minister of the United Free Church, Johns-
haven, Kincardineshire, who was ordained at Towie, Aberdeenshire, on
20 August, 1 89 1.
Rev. William Adam (M.A., 1902 ; B.D.), St. James's Parish Church, For-
far, has been chosen as assistant and successor to Rev. W. A. Stark, minister
of the parish of Kirkpatrick-Durham, Kirkcudbrightshire.
Rev. Dr. James Allan (M.A., Marischal College, 1848; D.D., 1902),
who has been minister of the parish of Marnoch, Banffshire, for the past
thirty-six years, has applied for the appointment of a colleague and successor.
(See Vol. III., 272.)
Rev. Dr. James Brebner (M.A., King's College, 1859; D.D., 1908), who
has been minister of the parish of Forgue, Aberdeenshire, for the past forty-
seven years, has resigned in favour of an assistant and successor.
Rev. William Brebner (M.A., 1868), who recently resigned the charge of
Gilcomston Parish Church, Aberdeen, has been presented by the congregation,
•' on his retirement after a faithful ministry of forty years," with his portrait,
painted by Mr. G. Fiddes Watt, A.R.S.A.
Personalia 75
Rev. Thomas John Bunting (M.A., 1906), assistant minister in Morning -
side Parish Church, Edinburgh, has been called unanimously to St. Gilbert's
Church, Pollokshields, Glasgow.
Mr. Samuel Wood Cameron (M.A., 191 1 ; B.D., 1916) has been licensed
to preach by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.
Mr. John Craig (M.A., 1906; B.A., Oxon.), formerly of the Audit De-
partment, Colonial Office, is now Private Secretary to His Excellency the-
Governor of British Honduras, Government House, Belize.
Mr. John Paton Cumine (M.A., Marischal College, i860), advocate irk
Aberdeen, has been appointed by the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney
Chancellor of the united diocese, in succession to the late Mr. James Bruce^
W.S., Edinburgh.
Rev. John Taylor Dean (M.A., 1888) has been asked by the Foreign
Mission Committee of the United Free Church to go out to Calabar, Southern
Nigeria, to take charge of the Hope-Waddell Training Institute for a year, in
place of the Vice- Principal, who, being on furlough, has offered for military
service. Mr. Dean was a missionary at Calabar from 1891 to 1898, and in
1899 became United Presbyterian minister at Coldingham, Berwickshire.
Since his return to this country he has translated the New Testament into Efik,
published a series of discourses on the Apocalypse entitled " Visions and Re-
velations," and contributed a handbook on " Revelation " to Clark's Hand-
books for Bible Classes.
Mr. Alexander Henderson Diack, C.V.O. (alumnus, 1876-79), senior
Financial Commissioner of the Punjab, was created K.C.I.E. on the dis-
tribution of the King's birthday honours in June last. He retired shortly
afterwards. Entering the Indian Civil Service in 1881, he joined the Punjab
Commission in the following year. From 1887 to the end of 1891 he was
engaged on settlement duty in Kulu. He was then appointed senior Secretary
to the Financial Commissioner ; was Revenue and Financial Secretary from
1899 to 1902, and Chief Secretary onwards till 1906, when he was appointed
senior Financial Commissioner. In 1 914 he represented the province on the
Imperial Council. He is the author of a glossary of the Kulu dialect of
Hindi and of a gazetteer of Kulu.
Dr. Charles Theodore Ewart (M.B., 1878; M.D., 1892) has beea
appointed Medical Officer at the London County Lunatic Asylum, Claybury,
Woodford Green, Essex. The institution is one of the principal of the kind,,
containing 3000 patients, and Dr. Ewart has been the senior assistant
medical officer at it for the past sixteen years. His appointment as principal
medical officet was warmly approved by his predecessor (who has just retired),
who stated that many of the recent improvements in asylums had been initiated
by Dr. Ewart, notably the institution of St. John Ambulance training
and the establishment of the London County Council's Epileptic Colony.
Dr. Ewart is an authority on insanity and the author of various treatises on the-
subject, besides works on national health, eugenics, and degeneracy.
^6 Aberdeen University Review
Mr. John N. Farquhar (alumnus and first bursar, 1883) has received the
'degree of Doctor of Letters from Oxford University. Mr. Farquhar, who has
been a missionary in India for many years, gives his time to the production of
•Christian literature, and has published a number of works which have been
exceedingly well received. He is also editor of several series of books which
are in course of production, the list of writers including several eminent
European scholars as well as missionaries. Oxford gives the D.Litt. only
on account of literature which has been published at least a year, and which
is recognized by the examining board as forming " an original contribution to
learning". The books submitted by Mr. Farquhar were his "Primer of
Hinduism," " Crown of Hinduism," and " Modern Religious Movements in
.India ". Mr. Farquhar is an Aberdeen man. He studied at the Grammar
School, and was first bursar at the University. He did not complete his
course here, but went to Oxford, where he took a double first class.
Mr. John Henderson Fraser (M.A., 1876), Head Master of Linhead
'Public School, Alvah, Banfif, has resigned on account of ill-health. He has
held the post for the last twenty years. He was previously Head Master of
-schools at Tomintoul, Dyce, and Banchory-Ternan.
Dr. John Gordon (M.B., 1884 ; M.D., 1888) has been appointed Chair-
man of the directors of the Aberdeen Asylum for the Blind, in succession to
Rev. William Brebner.
Fleet-Surgeon John Falconer Hall (M.B., 1893) has been appointed
Assistant Director- General at the Admiralty.
Rev. David Hobbs' (M.A., 1883), formerly minister of Great Hamilton
Street Congregational Church, Glasgow, has been appointed locum tenens in
Stonelaw United Free Church, Rutherglen, during the absence of the minister
on service as chaplain with the troops.
Mr. George Jamieson, C.M.G. (M.A., 1864), late Consul- General at
Shanghai, has been appointed a member of the governing body of the School
^ of Oriental Studies, on the nomination of the China Association.
Mr. John Hay Lobban (M.A., 1892) has been appointed an examiner for
the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Scholarship at Cambridge University.
Mr. Donald M'Donald (M.A., 19 13), divinity student, at present in the
service of the Y.M.C.A., has been licensed by the Presbytery of Aberdeen in
accordance with the deliverance of the last General Assembly on privileges
for divinity students on war service.
An interesting romance attaches to the marriage of Rev. Christian Victor
.^neas M'Echern (M.A., 1907), parish minister of Tighnabruaich, in the
Kyles of Bute, to Amie Anne Jenkins, youngest daughter of Mr. James Jen-
kins, dental surgeon, Malta. Mr. M'Echern enlisted over a year ago in the
R.A.M.C., but after being sent to Malta, was transferred to a chaplain's post
on the island. While out swimming one day he got into difficulties, and was
w.
Personalia 77*
in some danger, until a lady swimmer close at hand came to his assistance,
and, after supporting him in the water, succeeded in helping him to reach th«
shore. The young lady was Miss Jenkins, and the acquaintance made in sucbi.
romantic circumstances has had this happy sequel.
Mr. George Mackay (M.A., 1902), H.M, Chief Inspector of Schools,
Mauritius, has been appointed Superintendent of Schools in Fiji.
Mr. John Alexander Mackay (M.A., 1912 ; B.D.) has been ordained by
the United Free Church' Presbytery of Inverness as a missionary forwork in*-
South America.
Rev. George Alexander MacKeggie (M.A., 191 1; B.D., 1914), latterly
clerical missionary assistant in St. George's -in-the- West Parish Church, Aber-
deen, has been appointed by the Foreign Missions Committee of the Church
of Scotland as a missionary to India.
Rev. Donald Mackenzie (M.A., 1905), minister of Argyle Square United^
Free Church, Oban (formerly minister at Craigdam, Aberdeenshire), has been:
translated to the United Free Church, Tain.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lachlan Mackinnon, formerly of the ist Volunteer^
Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (M.A., 1875), has been gazetted temporary
Lieutenant-Colonel and County Commandant of the City of Aberdeen Volun^^
teer Regiment. He has been commandant of the force since its establish t
ment, and is also Chairman of the City of Aberdeen Appeal Tribunal.
Mr. James M'Lean (M.A., 1893), head-master of Lumphanan public:
school, Aberdeenshire, has been made a Fellow of the Educational Institutes-
Rev. William Gordon Maclean (M.A. [St. Andrews]; B.D., 1912),.,
minister of St. Andrew's Church, Alloa, has been elected minister of the parish ■
of Alexandria, Dumbartonshire. Prior to going to Alloa, he was assistant at
Ellon parish church and at St. Machar Cathedral.
Rev. David James M'Queen (M.A. [Edinburgh]; B.D., 1907), minister-
of the parish of Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire, has been elected minister of the -
parish of Port of Monteith, Dumbartonshire.
Dr. James M. M'Queen (M.A., 1903; B.Sc, M.B.) is joint author
with Dr. Leonard Hill, F.R.S., Director of the Department of Applied Physi-
ology, Medical Research Committee, of an article on the theory of bloodi
pressure measurements with special reference to the use of the schemata and '
blood pressure instruments, together with an explanation of the discordant
results arising from the use of these instruments, contributed to the "British<
Medical Journal '' .
Rev. J. T. Middlemiss, minister of Didsbury English Presbyterian-x
Church, the Moderator-Elect of the English Presbyterian Church, was edu-
cated at the Gymnasium, Old Aberdeen, and is said to have been also a^
student at King's College.
yS Aberdeen University Review
Rev. David Miller (B.D., 1875 ; [M.A., St. Andrews]), minister of the
parish of Ardclach, Nairn, has retired from the active duties of the charge,
iind a colleague and successor has been appointed.
Dr. Leslie James Milne (M.A., 1885 ; M.B., 1890 ; M.D., i897),Mirfield,
Yorkshire, has been elected President (for 191 5 -16) of the Incorporated
Society of Medical Officers of Health (Yorkshire branch).
Rev. Colin Ross Munro (M.A., 1910), assistant in the Henry Drummond
Memorial U nited Free Church, Possilpark, Glasgow, has received a call to
the Mure Church, Irvine.
Professor A. F. Murison (M.A., 1869) has been re-elected Dean of the
Faculty of Laws in London University for the period 1916-18. He has been
Professor of Roman Law since 1883, and of Jurisprudence since 1901. Dr.
P. T. Forsyth (M.A., 1869), Principal of Hackney College, London, has been
elected Dean of the Faculty of Theology, in succession to Dr. W. T. Davison.
Rev. Nathaniel Munro Murray (M.A., 1905), formerly a minister of the
Congregational Church at Alnwick and Newcastle-on-Tyne, has been admitted
a minister of the United Free Church of Scotland. He officiated in Beech-
grove United Free Church, Aberdeen, during the absence on military duty of
Rev. F. J. Rae, and was recently appointed to take up similar work in an Ayr-
shire congregation.
Mr. Francis Grant Ogilvie, C.B. (M.A., 1879), B.Sc, LL.D., Director
of Science Museums, South Kensington, is a member of the Committee
appointed to inquire into the position occupied by natural science in the edu-
cational system of the country. He is the eldest son of the late Rev. Dr.
Alexander Ogilvie, Head Master of Gordon's College, and was at one time
science master in the institution. He was previously assistant to Professor
Niven.
Canon Perry (M.A., 1891), Principal of the Scottish Episcopal Theological
College, Edinburgh, has been appointed Chancellor of the diocese of Edin-
burgh.
Hon. the Rev. George Pittendrigh (M.A., 1880), Professor of English Litera-
ture in the Christian College, Madras, has been re-elected representative of the
University of Madras in the Governor's Council for another term of three years.
Mr. William Rae (M.A., 1873) has been appointed by the Society of
Adv< cates in Aberdeen its representative on the governing body of the Milne
Bequest Trust, in succession to Dr. David Littlejohn, who has resigned the
position after many years' service.
Sir James Reid, M.A., M.D., LL.D., has been nominated one of the
Vice-Presidents of the Royal Institution for the current year.
Personalia 79
Rev. Robert Troup Sivewright (M.A., 1902), formerly a minister of the
Congregational Church and engaged in work in South Africa, has applied for
admission as a minister of the Church of Scotland, and has been put on
probation for a year as a preliminary to being licensed.
The Kaiser-i-Hind gold medal of the first class for public services in
India has been awarded to Rev. William Skinner (M.A., 1880; D.D., 1908),
Principal of the Madras Christian College.
Rev. James Tindal Soutter (M.A., 1910) of St. Andrew's Church, Nairobi,
British East Africa, is acting as minister of Dunbar during the absence of
Rev. James Kirk (formerly of the second charge of Old Machar), who is serv-
ing for a second year as a chaplain in France.
Deputy Surgeon- General James Lawrence Smith, M.V.O., R.N. (M.B.,
1883), eldest son of Mr. Alexander Emslie Smith, advocate, Aberdeen (King's
College, 1852-53), has been promoted to the rank of Surgeon-General.
Fleet-Surgeon John Hutton Stenhouse, R.N. (M.B., 1886) has been pro-
moted to the rank of Deputy-Surgeon-General.
Mr. W. Stewart Thomson, who graduated in Arts in 1885, is attending the
Divinity classes, and has been awarded, as the result of the recent competition,
a Knox bursary of the value of £24. Mr. Thomson is one of the Town
Councillors of the city.
Alderman Thomas William Thursfield (M.D., i860), F.R.C.P., J.P., cele-
brated on 27 July last, the fiftieth anniversary of his taking up residence in
Leamington; and the " Leamington, Warwick, and County Chronicle" of 3
August had a special account of his life-work and of his reminiscences of Leam-
ington. Dr. Thursfield, who is now in his seventy-seventh year, is'a native of
Kidderminster, and comes of a long line of doctors, his father, grandfather,
and great-grandfather having been all members of the medical profession.
He himself received his medical education in Aberdeen, and he was the first
graduate of the University, his diploma being dated 25 September, i860.
After leaving Aberdeen, Dr. Thursfield spent some months in the medical
schools of Paris, after which he travelled round the world with a patient, then
acted as private physician to a nobleman, and afterwards took charge for a
time of his father's practice at Kidderminster. He settled in Leamington
fifty years ago, becoming the medical attendant and close personal friend of
Dr. Jephson, who contributed so much to making Leamington renowned as a
spa. He relinquished his general practice in 1882, and since then has acted
only as a consulting physician. Dr. Thursfield has taken a considerable part
in the public life of Leamington. He was Mayor of the town for three
successive years, 1895-97, and has been Chairman of the Committee of the
Free Library for thirty-eight years,; and in 19 10 he was elected an honorary
freeman in recognition of his many services. It was largely due to his initi-
ative that the Jephson Gardens and Victoria Park were secured to the town ;
he raised a fund for the Warneford Hospital ; and the Corporation mace is
his gift.
8o Aberdeen University Review
Dr. James F. Tocher (B.Sc, 1908; D.Sc. ; F.I.C.), county analyst,
Aberdeen, and Lecturer on Statistics at the University, has been appointed
Examiner on Statistics at the University of London.
Mr. James Wood (M.A., 1902 ; B.Sc.) has passed the final examination
of the Institute of Chemistry.
Miss Margaret Skelton Clarke (alumnus, 1905-06) has been appointed
Secretary to the Council of Bedford College, London. For two years she
was assistant science mistress in Croydon High School for Girls, and more
recently has been Assistant Inspector under the Insurance Commissioners in.
England.
Miss Meta M'Combie (M.A., 1902) has been appointed Head Mistress of
the Kirby Secondary School, Middlesbrough.
Miss Annie Macdonald, Bunachton, Dores, Inverness-shire, who gradu-
ated in July with first-class honours in Economic Science, has been awarded a
Carnegie Research Scholarship of ;£ioo, and is now studying at the London
School of Economics.
Miss Marjorie D. Niven (M.A., 191 3), who has been studying at Somer-
ville College, has been placed in Class I of the Honours School of English
Language and Literature at Oxford University. She is now at the Chelten-^
ham Ladies' College.
Miss Marion Brock Richards (M.A., 1907; B.Sc), who at the summer
graduation passed the degree of Doctor of Science, has been appointed Lecturer
in Mathematics at the City of Leeds Training College, Beckett's Park, Leeds.
In recent years Miss Richards has held both a Carnegie Scholarship and a
Carnegie Fellowship, studying for two years in Germany and for two at
Marischal College.
Miss Alice Thompson (M.A., 1907; B.Sc), who for a number of years
has been working on the staff of the Aberdeen Training Centre, has now
been appointed Science Lecturer in the Borough Road Polytechnic College,
London.
Miss Annabella Wood (M.A., 191 5) has been appointed teacher of science
and mathematics at Kilsyth Academy.
Miss Ida Elizabeth Wood (M.A., 1908; B.Sc), Lecturer in Science at
the School of Domestic Science, King Street, Aberdeen, has resigned her ap-
pointment, having decided to become a medical student. She has been
awarded a research scholarship of jQz^i to enable her to prosecute further
certain investigations relative to the work of the school which she had been
carrying on for some time.
The following lady graduates have received educational appointments :
Jane D. Craig (M.A., 1915); Elizabeth Esslemont (M.A., 1914); Janetta
M. Jessiman (M.A., 1915); Constance Edina Lyall (M.A., 1915); Eliza
Mmty (M.A., 1915); and Elsie W. Stewart (M.A., 1910).
Personalia 8 1
Among recently published works are the following by Aberdeen University
men: "The Christian Ethic of War," by Dr. P. T. Forsyth; "Prayer in
War Time" and "The Key of the Grave," by Sir W. Robertson NicoU; "St.
Luke — Titus," the concluding volume of the series of "The Greater Men and
Women of the Bible," edited by Rev. Dr. Hastings ; " Dictionary of the Apostolic
Church," Vol. I, edited by Rev. Dr. Hastings ; "The Judges and Kings of United
Israel," by Rev. W. M. Grant, M.A., Drumoak (United Free Church Publica-
tions) ; " Chemistry in the Service of Man," by Professor A. Findlay, D.Sc. ;
" The Value of Seaweeds as Raw Materials for Chemical Industry," by
Professor Hendrick — a. paper read at a meeting of the Edinburgh section of
the Society of Chemical Industry ; "Wild Flowers of Britain," by Macgregor
Skene; "Caesar's Wars with the Germans," edited by W. Chalmers Bowie;
" The Tempest " and " Much Ado About Nothing," edited by J. H. Lobban
(for the Granta Shakespeare) ; and two novels — " Hearts and Faces," by John
Murray Gibbon, and " Flower o' the Peach," by W. A. Mackenzie. Messrs.
Hodder & Stoughton announce for early publication " Student and Sniper-
Sergeant : Memoir of J. K. Forbes, M.A.".
At the meeting of the British Association at Newcastle in September,
Professor A. R. Cushny, University College, London (M.A., 1886; M.D. ;
LL.D., 191 1), was president of the Physiology section. Dr. Chalmers
Mitchell, secretary of the Zoological Society (M.A., 1884; LL.D., 1914) was
one of the evening lecturers. In the Anthropology section. Professor Arthur
Keith, London, (M.B., 1888 ; M.D. ; LL.D., 191 1) read a paper on " Is the
British Facial Type Changing ? " and in the course of it mentioned that he had
recently carried out a minute comparison of the skulls of fifty people who lived
in England before the Norman Conquest with fifty skulls of persons who lived
in London during the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth
century, and had found that English faces had become longer and narrower.
He advocated a physical survey and census of the British people.
As stated in Vol. IH., 277, the Senior Graduate of King's College is
the Rev. George Compton Smith, Rhynie, who entered in 1845 and graduated
M.A. in due course in 1849. But the Senior Alumnus appears to be the
Very Rev. Dr. William Mair, Edinburgh (formerly minister of Earlston), who
entered King's College in 1844, afterwards migrating to Marischal College,
where he graduated M.A. in 1849, taking subsequently the joint Divinity
curriculum during 1849-53. ^^ received the honorary degree of D.D. from
the University of Aberdeen in 1885, and was elected Moderator of the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1897. Dr. Mair has kept a
record of the Marischal College Arts Class of 1845-49, of which he is now the
sole survivor.
A wedding took place at the University Chapel on 31 August, a special
feature of which was that the bridegroom, bride, bridesmaid, and groomsman
were all medical graduates of the University. The bridegroom was Captain
John Alexander Innes, R.A.M.C. (B.Sc, 1913; M.B., 1915), and the bride
Miss Elizabeth Stephen (M.A., 1913; M.B., 1915). The bridesmaid was
Miss Esther Stephen (M.B., 191 5), sister of the bride; and the groomsman
Captain Hector Mortimer, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1914). The officiating clergy-
man was Rev. J. F. Shepherd, M.A. (Oxon.), Belmont Congregational Church.
6
82 Aberdeen University Review
At the summer graduation in July, the degree of M.A. was conferred on
sixty-one students, no fewer than forty-eight of them being women ; that of
B.Sc. on two, both of them women ; and the degrees of M.B. Ch.B. on
eighteen, all men. The degree of D.Sc. was taken by Mr. James Ewing,
B.Sc, Northfield, Minnesota; Miss Marion Brock Richards, B.Sc, Aber-
deen ; and Mr. George Kenneth Sutherland, B.Sc, Southampton. The de-
gree of M.D. was taken by Mr. James Watt, M.B., Crookesbury Sanatorium,
Farnham, Surrey, with highest honours for thesis, and by Mr. George Byres,
M.B., Waipiata, Central Otago, New Zealand, and Major A. W. O. Wright,
M.B., Indian Medical Service.
Several awards of scholarships were intimated at a meeting of the Senatus
on 31 October. The FuUerton, Moir, and Gray scholarship in Classics was
awarded to Andrew Wilson Thomson (M.A., 1916). A Robbie scholarship
in Mathematics was conferred on Edith Ross Lumsden (M.A., 1916). The
Dey scholarship in Education for the current year was awarded to Christina
G. O'Connor (M.A., 1915). On a report from the Faculty of Arts, it was
agreed to recommend that the Town Council gold medals in the department
of Arts for the year 19 16 should be conferred as follows : Literature and Philo-
sophy, W. J. Entwistle (M.A., 1916); proxime accessit, Claudine I. Wilson.
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Edith R. Lumsden, M.A.
At the Bursary Competition in July the first place was taken — for the
fourth year in succession since 191 2 — by a secondary or higher grade school
outside Aberdeen City. The first bursar was Peter S. Noble, son of a cooper
in Fraserburgh, who was the gold medallist and winner of the Dr. John Clark
prize at Fraserburgh Academy this year. The second bursar was Helen
Cameron, belonging to Glenlivet, who was a student at Mortlach Higher
Grade School, Dufftown, and for the past year has been studying at the Aber-
deen High School for Girls, being the winner this year of the Town Council
gold medal for modern languages. A pupil of Robert Gordon's College,
Thomas Ruxton, son of a clerk in Aberdeen, was third bursar ; and the fifth
and sixth places were also taken by pupils of the College, class-fellows of Rux-
ton. The fourth bursar was William Lillie, a pupil of the Miller Institution
Higher Grade School, Thurso. He is a son of Rev. David Lillie, minister of
Watten, Caithness, who is an M.A. and B.D. of the University, and a grand-
son of the late Rev. William L. Lillie, D.D. (of King's College), minister of
Wick. The feature of the bursary list was again the success of the smaller
country town and village schools as compared with the three Aberdeen insti-
tutions ; but in fairness both to the Aberdeen Grammar School and to Robert
Gordon's College, which have both in past years provided many leading bur-
sars, it has to be stated that owing to the fact that a large number of the
senior pupils are now serving with His Majesty's Forces, comparatively few
entries were made for this year's bursary competition.
Obituary.
Perhaps the most conspicuous of the graduates who have lately passed
away was The Right Hon. Sir James Stirling, LL.D., F.R.S., formerly a
Lord Justice of Appeal, who died at his residence, Finchcocks, Goudhurst,
Kent, on 27 June. Sir James, who had just completed his eightieth year, was
the eldest son of Rev. James Stirling, for forty-seven years (1824-71) minister
of the George Street United Presbyterian Church (now Garden Place United
Free Church), Aberdeen. Born in Aberdeen on 3 May, 1836, he was edu-
cated at the Grammar School (being dux in 185 1), and at King's College,
where he graduated M.A. in 1855, carrying off the Simpson Greek Prize and
other honours. He then went to Trinity College, Cambridge, and was Senior
Wrangler and first Smith's Prizeman in i860, but refusing as a dissenter to
subscribe the formularies of the Church of England he was deprived of the
rewards he had won and debarred from his Fellowship ; his case was much
discussed at the time and contributed to the abolition of tests which was
enacted a few years later. A class-fellow of Stirling's at King's, John Black,
was Simpson Mathematical Prizeman, and it has been noted as curious that,
while the Greek Prizeman became Senior Wrangler, the Mathematical Prize-
man turned to Classics and became Professor of Humanity.
Adopting the profession of Law, Stirling was called to the Bar by Lincoln's
Inn in November, 1862. For a number of years he carried on chamber
practice, adding from 1865 till 1876 the work of reporter in the Rolls Court
for the " Law Reports ". He became Junior Counsel to the Treasury in
1 88 1, and two years later was elected a member of the Bar Committee. In
May, 1886, he was appointed a Judge of the Chancery Division, receiving at
the same time the honour of knighthood. Consequent on several judicial
changes in October, 1 900, Sir James Stirling was created a Lord Justice of
Appeal. He resigned in 1906, having sat on the bench for twenty years.
" The Times " in its obituary notice said : —
As a Judge, Stirling was painstaking and accurate, somewhat slow and over-cautious,
and perhaps a little narrow. Shy, reserved, and diffident, he was unwilling either privately
or publicly to " let himself go *'. Davey is reported to have said of him that his opinion was the
best in Lincoln's Inn if one could only get it. His judgments displayed no wit or humour
or literary grace — he was a somewhat austere Scotsman — but they were lucid and to the
point and not often reversed. The same qualities were displayed in the Court of Appeal
which had characterized him as a Judge of first instance ; but his diffidence and almost
undue deference to the opinions of others were accentuated. He is said to have withdrawn
a judgment and written another in a different sense in a case in which his first opinion
would have been right according to the final interpretation of the House of Lords. In one
case, however, Farquharson v. King, in which he had the courage of his convictions, his
judgment was preferred by the final tribunal to that of his two colleagues.
Sir James Stirling took a keen interest in Mathematical and Physical
Science, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1902. He always
84 Aberdeen University Review
looked back with affection to his " Alma Mater," his debt to which he more
than once acknowledged in warm terms. He was a Vice-President of the
Aberdeen University Club of London, and took the chair at the winter dinner
in 1889. He received the LL.D. degree from the University in 1887.
A more personal loss was that of an eminent member of the University
staff — the Very Rev. Thomas Nicol, D.D., Professor of Biblical Criticism, and
a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (see
Vol. I., p. 187). Professor Nicol died suddenly at the Manse of Skelmorlie,
Ayrshire, on 7 August. He had been taking charge of the parish for two
months during the absence of his son, Rev. D. Bruce Nicol, who is the
minister and was at the time a chaplain with the forces in France. He un-
fortunately caught a chill which produced a slight congestion of the lungs, and
pneumonia supervened with fatal result.
Professor Nicol was born at Castleton of Kincardine, in the parish of For-
doun, m October, 1846, and had thus nearly completed his seventieth year.
He received his elementary education chiefly at Fettercairn parish school
under the late Dr. A. C. Cameron ; and entering Aberdeen University in
1864 as fourth bursar, he graduated four years later, taking first-class honours
in both Classics and Philosophy and carrying off the Hutton Prize and the
Simpson Greek Prize. He also held the Fullerton Scholarship for four years
following graduation. After a session of divinity at Aberdeen he proceeded
to Edinburgh University and completed his divinity course there in 187 1,
graduating B.D. and gaining, among other honours, the first prize in Biblical
Criticism. From 1874 to 1877 he acted as Examiner in Biblical Criticism
and Hebrew in Edinburgh University, and in 1888-9, during the absence of
Professor Charteris, he had charge of the Biblical Criticism Class along with
Professor Cowan, and in 1894-5 he conducted the class during the whole
session. He received the degree of D.D. from Edinburgh University in
1893.
Dr. Nicol had supplemented his theological studies by a summer session
at Tubingen, and in November, 1871, he was licensed by the Presbytery of
Fordoun and appointed assistant to Dr. Maxwell Nicholson, St. Stephen's,
Edinburgh. His probationership was brief, for in January, 1873, he was
ordained as minister of Kells, in the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, where he
remained for six years. In 1879 he accepted a call to Tolbooth Parish,
Edinburgh, remaining in that charge for twenty years. He rendered consider-
able service in the administrative work of the Church of Scotland. He was
for over twenty years Convener of the Jewish Mission Committee, and on three
separate occasions he visited the Church's Jewish Mission stations in the
East. From 1886 to 1900 he was editor of the Mission Record of the
Church.
In 1899 Dr. Nicol was appointed to the Chair of Biblical Criticism in
Aberdeen University, in succession to the late Professor David Johnston.
He had filled the Chair with the completest acceptance for the last seventeen
years, and had taken besides a large share in the public activities of the city.
He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland in 19 14, and had been previously Croall Lecturer and Baird Lee-
Obituary 85
turer. He was the author of " Recent Explorations in Bible Lands " ; " Re-
cent Archaeology of the Bible" (Croall Lecture, 1897-8); and "The Four
Gospels in the Earliest Church History " (Baird Lecture, 1906-7) ; and he con-
tributed numerous articles to various Bible Dictionaries and Theological Cyclo-
paedias. To the Quatercentenary volume of " Studies in the History of the
University," he furnished the article on "New Testament Learning in the
Universities ".
Prominent among the distinguished graduates of the University who have
died since our last issue — a. victim of the great war as surely as if he had
fallen in the field — was Lieutenant- Colonel Arthur Hugh Lister, C.M.G.
(B.A. [Cantab.], 1886; M.B., CM. [Aberd.], 1895 ; M.D., 1904). He was
an officer in the R.A.M.C. in the old Volunteer days, and continued to serve
when the unit was merged in the Territorial Force and became known as the
and Highland Field Ambulance. He retired in 1910 and became a Lieu-
tenant-Colonel d la suite of the ist Scottish General Hospital at Aberdeen.
After the declaration of war, he repeatedly expressed his desire to go on active
service, and in 19 14 he left for France, in company with Lieutenant-Colonel
H. M. W. Gray, with the hospital unit equipped by Sir Henry Norman, M.P.,
and he remained on duty on the western front for about three months. On
the formation of new hospitals for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Lister was one of the first to be placed in command of a
medical division of a general hospital, and in that capacity he achieved con-
spicuous success. He was recognized as the specialist in Medicine, and
medical men who served with him testify to the brilliance and distinction of
his work, and to the splendid services he rendered — services acknowledged
by his being made a C.M.G. The exacting nature of his duties, however,
seriously impaired his health and he was compelled to retire. He died at sea
while on his way home to this country, on 17 July, aged fifty-two.
Dr. Lister belonged to a distinguished family, being a son of the late Mr.
Arthur Lister, F.R.S., an eminent scientist, and a nephew of the late Lord
Lister. He graduated B.A. at Cambridge with special distinction in Natural
Science, and after being in business in London for several years, he came to
Aberdeen to study medicine, and graduated M.B., CM., in 1895 with highest
honours, gaining the John Murray Medal and Scholarship awarded to the
most distinguished graduate of the year. In 1904 he took the M.D. degree
with honours for his thesis on the Roentgen rays and their application to
diseases of the chest. In 1895 he was appointed house physician at the
Middlesex Hospital, but returned to Aberdeen in the following year and began
practice. He speedily secured a position as one of the leading medical men
in the north of Scotland, and latterly had confined himself to consultant work.
For a time he was assistant to Professor Cash in the Materia Medica Depart-
ment, and for many years he had been on the medical staff* of the Aberdeen
Royal Infirmary. He was also for several years honorary medical officer for
the Morningfield Hospital, the Newhills Convalescent Home, and the tuber-
culosis wards at the Aberdeen City Hospital. Dr. Lister had particularly
identified himself with all the important developments in the investigation of
tuberculosis ; he had thoroughly equipped himself for diagnosis ; and he was
136 Aberdeen University Review
widely known in the profession for his highly expert knowledge in the treat-
ment of that disease. He was Treasurer of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical
Society. He was married to a daughter of the late Sir Reginald Palgrave,
Principal Clerk to the House of Commons.
The following appeared in the *' Lancet's " obituary notice of Lieutenant-
Colonel Lister : —
One of his contemporaries writes of him : " Lister was a physician of unusual ability,
a good teacher, and a man of singular charm and nobility of character. To his patients
he was as much friend as physician. He regarded his life and energy as a trust to be
spent, heedless of himself, in the interests of others, and to the strain involved in his untir-
ing devotion to this ideal is largely to be attributed his premature death."
Professor Matthew Hay, in a communication to the " Lancet," said Dr.
Lister " inherited much of the scientific instinct of the Lister family, and he
had all the gentleness and charm of manner of his distinguished uncle ". The
Professor also referred to Dr. Lister's special study of tuberculosis, remarking
that *' For several years before his death he had become one of the two or
three leading clinical authorities and consultants in Scotland on this disease,"
and was "one of the first in this country to advocate and publish a compre-
hensive scheme for combating tuberculosis ".
Sir James Sivewright, K.C.M.G., of Tulliallan, Kincardine-on- Forth
(M.A., 1866; LL.D., 1893), di^d ^t Llandrindod Wells, Wales, on 10 Sep-
tember, a fter a month's illness, aged sixty-eight. He was a native of Fochabers,
the son of a mason. Three years after graduating, he passed first in the com-
petitive examination for the Telegraphic Department of India, and in 1870 he
entered the British postal service.
After spending some time in the service in India, he, in 1877, went to
South Africa as General Manager of the telegraph system there. He retired
on a pension in 1885.
Three years later (said ♦• The Times' " obituary notice) Sivewright went into politics,
being returned as member of the Cape Parliament for Griqualand East. In 1890 he joined
the first Rhodes Ministry as Minister without portfolio. In the same year he was appointed
Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works. His administration of this office was
characterized by considerable activity in the development of the Cape railway and telegraphic
systems. It led, however, to the break-up of the Ministry in 1893, owing to Sivewright's
policy in connexion with a refreshment contract. Mr. Merriman, Mr. Sauer, and Sir James
Kose>Innes resigned as a protest against his handling of this contract, and Rhodes was com-
pelled to reconstitute his Ministry. When the names of the new Ministers were announced
It was found that Sivewright was no longer a member of it, though it should be said that
he, too, had tendered his resignation to Rhodes. After holding the same office in the
Sprigg Ministry, which took office in 1896, Sivewright retired from public life at the Cape
and returned to this country.
He was created a K.C.M.G. in 1892 on the completion of the railway
from the Cape to Germistown. From 1875 to 1877 he was secretary to the
Society of Telegraphic Engineers, and he was the author of a well-known
text-book in telegraphy published in 1876.
Sir Janaes Sivewright purchased the estate of Tulliallan sixteen years ago,
and had since resided there continuously, with the exception of an occasional
trip to South Africa. When the war broke out, he was in Germany, and was
for a time kept as a prisoner of war at Nuremberg.
A bequest by Sir James to the University is mentioned in the " University
Topics" (p. 65).
Obituary 87
Rev. John Adam (M.A., 1866) died at his residence, 15 Brunswick Street,
Edinburgh, on 30 June, aged seventy-five. He was minister of the Evan-
gelical Union (afterwards Congregational) Church in Dunfermline from 1869
to 1874, when he went to Carluke. In 1886 he accepted a charge in Carlisle,
and in 1891 was transferred to the Kirk Memorial Congregational Church,
Edinburgh, to which he ministered for sixteen years. Since retiring from the
active ministry Mr. Adam had acted as assistant at Fountainhall Road United
Free Church, Edinburgh. He was the eldest son of the late Mr. James
Adam, farmer, Cornhill, Cullerlie, Echt.
Sir William Sinclair Smith Bisset, K.C.I.E. (M.A., Marischal College,
i860), for many years one of the foremost figures in the Indian railway world,
died at his residence, Hill House, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, on 30 July,
aged seventy-three. He was a son of the late Rev. James Bisset, D.D.,
minister of the parish of Bourtie, Aberdeenshire. Entering the Royal En-
gineers in 1863, he joined the Public Works Department in India three years
later, and in 1870 he superintended the survey which prepared the way for
the construction of the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway. We excerpt the fol-
lowing from the obituary notice in " The Times " : —
Becoming deputy consulting engineer for guaranteed railways in the Calcutta circle in
1872, he served later as manager of the Holkar State Railway, on special duty in connexion
with the Madras famine relief works in 1877, and then in the Afghan War, where he gained
the medal and the brevet rank of major. Thereafter to 1893 ^e was first manager of the
Rajputana Malwa Railway, and then agent (or chief executive officer) of the Bombay,
Baroda, and Central India system, with which the former line was incorporated in 1884.
His combination of tact and ability took him to head-quarters in 1893 to be acting Director-
General of Railways, and then he succeeded to the highest post, at that time, in the Public
Works Department — namely, that of Secretary to the Government of India. He filled it
until 1897, when he was knighted, and returned to this country to become Government
Director of Indian Railways. He retired from the India Office in 1901 on election to the
chairmanship of his old company, the Bombay, Baroda, and he was also chairman of the
Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. For many years he exercised considerable in-
fluence on fluctuating Indian railway policy.
"The Times '' later published an appreciation of Sir William Bisset by an
old friend, who referred to him as '• the last of a type, a great tradition, one
of the devoted Royal Engineers who gave his whole strength and his devoted
duty to India ". The writer recalled that Sir Pertab Singh of Jodhpur not long
before described Sir William as a " Pukka Sahib," and added — *' Let this be
his epitaph. He was, indeed, a Pukka Sahib — a. very perfect gentleman.
He was always courteous, modest in spite of his knowledge, and very firm
and steadfast.'*
Mr. John A. Harvie-Brown (LL.D., 191 2), F.R.S.E., F.Z.S., died at his
residence, Dunipace House, near Larbert, on 26 July, aged seventy-one.
He was a well-known and distinguished naturalist, his special branch of study
being ornithology.
Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton, M.D., F.R.S., the great consultant
physician, died at his residence, i De Walden Court, New Cavendish Street,
London, on 16 September, aged seventy-two. Among the many University de-
grees he received was that of LL.D. of Aberdeen University, conferred in 1889.
88 Aberdeen University Review
Rev. John Mackenzie Gibson (M.A., King's College, 1854) died at his
residence, 22 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh, on 22 September, aged eighty-one.
He succeeded his father as minister of the parish of Avoch, Ross-shire, in 1866,
and laboured there for quarter of a century. For over forty years he acted as
chaplain to the Seaforth Highlanders. At his funeral (to Dean Cemetery,
Edinburgh) the pipers of the regiment played " Lochaber No More " ; and
upon the pall were woven the Gaelic words of the Seaforths' motto and of the
Mackenzie Clan's rallying-cry.
Lieutenant-Colonel John Greig (M.B., Marischal College, 1858;
L.R.C.S., Ed., i860), 20 Mount Avenue, West Ealing, London, died in
August. He entered the Army Medical Department in 1858, gradually ris-
ing in rank till he became Lieutenant-Colonel and was retired. He served
throughout the Afghan War of 1879-80, and was decorated with the Afghan
medal.
Mr. William Harper (M.A., King's College, i860) died at his residence,
Ruby Cottage, 3 Anderson Road, Woodside, on 8 August, aged seventy- eight.
He was a native of Banchory-Ternan and entered King's College in 1856 as
second bursar. In November, i860, he was appointed parochial school-
master of Cluny, Aberdeenshire, and held the post for fifty-two years, retiring
in 19 1 2. He was a Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland.
Dr. George Petrie-Hay (M.D., CM., 186 1) of Edintore, Keith, Banff-
shire, died there suddenly on 22 October, aged 78. He was a son of the
late Mr. George Petrie, solicitor, Banff, his mother being a daughter of the
late Mr. Alexander Hay of Edintore ; and on her succeeding to the estate on
her father's death the family adopted the name of Petrie-Hay. After some
experience as a surgeon on board ship, during which time he visited Australia
and the West Indies, Dr. Petrie-Hay took up practice, first in Keith and then
at Ballindalloch. He afterwards went to Forres and was in practice there for
nearly thirty years, retiring to his estate at Edintore in 1907.
Sir Victor Horsley — characterized by " The Times " as "not only a very
distinguished surgeon, but a pioneer in the field of scientific medicine " —
died on 1 6 July from heat stroke while serving as a consultant with the British
forces in Mesopotamia. He was an LL.D. of Aberdeen University, the de-
gree having been conferred in 1914, a few days before the outbreak of war.
Dr. George Johnston (M.B., CM., 1883) died at his residence, 13
Great George Square, Liverpool, on 18 June, aged sixty-six. He was a son
of the late Mr. James Johnston, merchant, Disblair, Fintray, Aberdeenshire.
He was one of the original pioneer party which went out to Central Africa
with Dr. Laws in 1875 ^o found the Livingstonia Mission. There was a party
of eight — five of whom were practical men, George Johnston being the car-
penter. They were carefully chosen for the special work, and, as one historian
of Livingstonia has said, " These were eight remarkable men, all endowed
with much energy, real piety, and an earnest desire to help enslaved Africa
through the power of the Gospel ". From what he saw in Central Africa, Mr.
Johnston was so convinced of the need for medical missionaries that he re-
Obituary 89
turned to this country and went through the medical course at the University.
He was declared unfit for service abroad, however, and settled as a medical
practitioner in Liverpool.
Dr. William MacDougall (M.A., 1896; M.B., Ch.B. [Edin.], 1901 ;
M.D. [Edin.]) died at Carr Bridge, Inverness-shire, on 23 June, aged forty-
two. He was for some time in practice at Newtown, Wigan, and was after-
wards at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean and at Singapore. He was
the only son of Mr. A. MacDougall, Inland Revenue, Rothes.
Mr. John M'Kenzie (M.A,, 1873), formerly headmaster of the Madras
College, St. Andrews, died suddenly at his residence at St. Andrews on 14
June, aged sixty-four. Mr. M'Kenzie, who was a native of Mortlach, Banff-
shire, was educated at the Old Aberdeen Grammar School, and graduated at
the University with honours in Classics. He was then appointed headmaster
of Crathie Public School, and three years later he became a Classical master
in Glasgow Academy. In 1878 he removed to Gordon's College, where for
five years he was teacher of Classics and Higher English. His scholarship
and his success as a teacher procured him in 1883 the rectorship of Elgin
Academy. In September, 1889, he was appointed the first headmaster of
Madras College, St. Andrews, when that institution was reorganized by the
Endowed Schools Commission. He retired from this post last year after
twenty-seven years' service. On the occasion of his retirement he was made
the recipient of gifts from his old pupils and members of the teaching staff of
the college. He was a member of the Classical Association of Scotland. A
year ago he was elected a member of St. Andrews Town Council, and was the
representative of that body at the last General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland.
The "Morning Chronicle" of Halifax, Nova Scotia, of 18 August, re-
corded the death, at his home in Eureka, Pictou County, at the age of
ninety-five years, of Rev. Alexander Maclean, D.D., described as "one of
the fathers of Presbyterianism in Nova Scotia, indeed in all Canada," and as
" probably the oldest Presbyterian minister in Nova Scotia, if not in the whole
of Canada " . He was one of the first Nova Scotians to be sent to ** the old
country " to study for the ministry, he and the late Rev. Alexander Mackay
being sent by the Church of Scotland congregations of Pictou County. Dr.
Maclean is said to have attended classes and gone through "the regular
course " in Aberdeen University, this "course" being finished in 1852.
William Francis Moir (M.A., 1906) died at his residence, 104A Holbum
Street, Aberdeen, on 2 7 August, aged thirty-one. After graduating, he received
an appointment in Biggar Higher Grade School, and remained there until 191 1,
when he had a serious breakdown in health. For the past two years and a
half he had been classical master in Dufftown Higher Grade School.
Dr. Arthur Geooheghan Paxton (student of medicine, 1898-99; M.B.,
Ch.B. [Glasgow], 1905) died in New Zealand, 27 May, aged thirty-five. He
was the youngest son of the late Mr. Thomas Paxton, Collector of Inland
Revenue, Aberdeen, but completed his medical studies at Glasgow
University.
go Aberdeen University Review
Mr. George Jamieson Shepherd (alumnus, 1861-63), died at his resi-
dence, 6 Bon-Accord Crescent, Aberdeen, on 12 July, aged seventy-two. He
was a son of the late Mr. James Shepherd, of the firm of Messrs. Souter &
Shepherd, wholesale druggists and drysalters, Aberdeen; and, after being
educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the University, he went into
business with his father. He retired several years ago. He was long identi-
fied with the commercial interests of Aberdeen, was a prominent member and
a past president of the Chamber of Commerce, and was a director of various
local companies. He was also a prominent figure in the affairs of the United
Presbyterian Church, being connected with the Belmont Street congregation.
Dr. JosiAH RoYCE, Professor of the History of Philosophy in Harvard
University, died in the end of September last, aged sixty-one. He was
Giff"ord Lecturer in the University, 1898- 1900, and received the honorary
degree of LL.D. in 1900.
Mr. Stanley Horsfall Turner, M.A., D.Litt., who was Lecturer on
Political Economy in the University from 1904 to 191 2, died suddenly at
Troon, Ayrshire, on 21 September. He was Deputy Chief Inspector for
Scotland under the National Health Insurance Commission.
Mr. Andrew Urquhart, S.S.C, Edinburgh (law student, 1872-73), died
at his residence, 4 South Inverleith Avenue, Edinburgh, on 3 September,
aged sixty- four. He was President of the Baptist Union of Scotland in 191 1.
Dr. Martindale Cowslade Ward (M.D., CM., 1865), Glengariff", Mar-
shall's Road, Sutton, Surrey, died on 13 November, 19 15, aged seventy-four.
He was formerly in practice at Twickenham, Middlesex.
Dr. John Eustace Webb (M.B., CM., 1884) died at his residence, Kers-
will House, Looe, Cornwall, suddenly in August, aged fifty -one. He was a
son of Dr. F. C Webb, editor of the " Medical Times and Gazette ". He
entered the Royal Navy as a surgeon in 1886, and retired at the end of 1893.
For some time he was on the medical staff" of the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar.
Latterly, he was in practice at Looe.
Since our last issue and up to the date of completing this Obituary list,
the following twenty-seven University men, engaged in the various operations
of the war, were reported to have been killed or to have died of injuries or
otherwise, in addition to Lieutenant-Colonel A. H. Lister, CM.G., mentioned
in the ordinary Obituary : —
Malcolm Robert Bain (Arts student; i6th bursar, 191 5), Private 3/6th
Seaforth Highlanders, was killed in action. He hailed from Grantown-on-
Spey.
John Bowie (Arts and Science student), Corporal, Special Brigade, Royal
Engineers, died in France on 27 June from gas-poisoning, while on his way
from the trenches to a base hospital. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery
in November, 1914, but was afterwards transferred to the Royal Engineers*
He was twenty-one years of age.
Obituary 9 1
Harry Brian Brooke (student in Agriculture, 1906-7), Captain, Gordoi*
Highlanders, died on 24 July from wounds received at Mametz, France, when
leading his company at that point of the Somme offensive. He was struck by
two bullets in succession, but they failed to stop him, and he went on to the
capture of the German third trench, when he was struck in the neck by a shot,
and it is this wound that proved fatal. Captain Brian Brooke was a settler in-
British East Africa, where he lived for seven years. He was in the Govern-
ment service in Jubuland, and when the war broke out he joined the British
East African Forces. He served as a Captain, and was severely wounded.
He was invalided home, and on recovery he received a transfer to the Gordon
Highlanders. He was a keen sportsman and big game hunter in East Africa.
Captain Brooke was the third son of Captain Harry Vesey Brooke of Fairley,
near Aberdeen, formerly an officer in the Gordon Highlanders, and of Mrs-
Brooke, the only child of the late Mr. James G. Moir-Byres of Tonley and
Fairley. He was twenty-six years of age.
Frederic Attenborrow Conner (student in Science and Agriculture),
Second Lieutenant, Seaforth Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 2
July. He enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders (T.F.), and while serving in
France he received his commission and was attached to one of the regular
battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders, He was the younger surviving son of
Mr. James Conner, Sheriff-Clerk Depute, Aberdeen, and Justice of Peace Clerk
for the county, and was twenty-one years of age.
William Adrian Davidson (Arts student). Second Lieutenant, Gordon
Highlanders, died in France on 2 July from wounds received in action. He
was studying medicine when the war broke out, and, entering Sandhurst, ob-
tained a commission in the Gordon Highlanders Reserve, being subsequently
attached to a battalion. He was the eldest son of Mr. Alexander Davidson,
solicitor, Broomhill Park, Aberdeen, and a grandson of the late Mr. William.
Davidson, grain merchant, Inverurie, and was twenty-one years of age.
George Dawson (M.A., 1905 ; B.Sc, 1906), Corporal, Royal Engineers,,
was killed in action in France on 28 June. He joined the Royal Scots as a
private in October, 1914, and was subsequently transferred to a special bat-
talion of the Royal Engineers, and had been at the front since September,.
1 91 5. After graduating, Mr. Dawson was appointed science and mathe-
matical master at Kemnay. He afterwards went to Elgin as assistant master
in the Academy there, and later he became assistant science and mathematical
master at the Aberdeen Grammar School. He was a son of Mr. Alexander-
Dawson, granite merchant, 21 Fonthill Terrace, Aberdeen, and was thirty-
three years of age.
Andrew Eraser (M.A., 1910), Sergeant, Machine Gun Section, Gordon
Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 22 July. For two years he
was a teacher in Fraserburgh Academy, and when he enlisted at the beginning
of the war he was a second year divinity student in the United Free Church.
College, Aberdeen. He was a native of Tain.
^92 Aberdeen University Review
Leslie Fyfe (alumnus, 191 1- 12), Private in the Gordon Highlanders, was
'killed in action in France on 23 July. On completing his education at the
University, he was appointed to the managership of a tobacco-growing estate
in Nyasaland, where he was for over three years. He was the youngest son
of Mr. James Fyfe, Moreseat, Mid-Stocket Road, Aberdeen, and was twenty-
three years of age.
James Smith Hastings (M.A., 191 2), Second Lieutenant, Gordon High-
'landers, died suddenly at a military camp at Ripon on 25 June, aged twenty-
: six. He was a son of Mr. James Hastings, 8 Cattofield Place, Aberdeen,
'<:ashier with Messrs. Morice & Wilson, advocates, and prior to the war was a
teacher in Cults Public School. He enlisted in the ranks, but soon was pro-
moted Corporal and then Sergeant, and shortly before his death was gazetted
Second Lieutenant.
Alexander Francis Johnston (M.A., 1907) was killed in action on
10 September. "It was only four or five weeks ago " (writes his brother, in
a letter dated 20 September) "that he got his commission, and immediately
afterwards he was sent out with the ist Queen's Westminsters, although com-
missioned with the nth Londons." He was a teacher, and resided at
Birkenhead.
John Alexander Kennedy (M.A., 1902; B.Sc, 1905), Captain, Sea-
forth Highlanders, was killed in action in France in August. After
graduating, he was appointed first assistant in Mortlach Public School, where
he acted for some time as interim headmaster. In 1903 he resigned another
appointment as science master at Dingwall Academy in order to study for the
B.Sc. degree, which he obtained in 1905 with distinction. Captain Kennedy
was afterwards engaged in the Central Higher Grade School, Aberdeen, and
in May, 19 10, he was appointed headmaster of St. Andrews (Lhanbryd) Pub-
lic School, Elginshire. He was a son of Mr. Robert Kennedy, superintendent
of the Deveron fisheries, Banff.
John Alexander King (M.A., 1909), Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders,
^as killed in action in France on 1 2 September. He was the only son of
Mr. John A. King, schoolmaster, Brodiesord, Fordyce, Banffshire; and
from Fordyce Academy he proceeded to Aberdeen University, where he
^graduated with honours in classics. He held teaching appointments at Fordyce
'Academy, Cullen, Fort- William, and Aberdeen Grammar School successively,
vand latterly at Kirkcaldy.
George Low (M.A., 19 14), Second Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders,
was reported missing 25-27 September, 1915, and the War Office notified
in September last that, in view of the lapse of time without any further
information being received, his death has now been accepted for official pur-
poses as having occurred on or since 25 September, 191 5. Lieutenant Low
«eas in U Company of the Gordons, and was a sergeant-major before obtaining
ius -commission. He belonged to Dyce.
obituary 93;
Robert Lyon (M.A., 1912; LL.B., 19 14), Captain, 5th Gordon High-
landers, was killed in action in France on 30 July. He was advancing at the
head of his company in face of a withering fire, and, though wounded, he
continued to lead his men on, but was killed in front of the German wire en-
tanglements. Captain Lyon was the younger son of Sir Alexander Lyon,
ex- Lord Provost of Aberdeen. He had a distinguished career at the Univer-
sity both in Arts and Law, winning the Hunter Medal in Roman Law, and i
was a very brilliant young man, those acquainted with him being confident
that he would have attained distinction in the profession to which he intended
devoting himself. When the war broke out he was continuing his studies
with a leading legal firm in Edinburgh, with a view to being called to the
Scottish bar. He had previously been a member of U Company of the 4th
Gordons, but he was commissioned into the 5th Battalion, and had proved a
most efficient and popular officer. His personal attractiveness and high char-
acter endeared him to a wide circle of friends. He was twenty-five years
of age.
John Mortimer M'Bain (Arts student). Second Lieutenant, Royal Field.i
Artillery, died of wounds in a German Field Hospital at Vraucourt, a few
miles north-east of Bapaume, on 9 July. He had been missing since i July, ,
when the offensive on the Western front was launched. He was the elder
son of Mr. John M'Bain, C.A., Aberdeen, and was dux of the Aberdeen >
Grammar School in 191 3. He was preparing to enter the Indian Civifc;
Service. He was twenty years of age.
John Alexander M'Combie (student of Medicine), Sergeant, Gordon
Highlanders, died of wounds received in action in France, 26 July. He left
for the front in February, 1915, and was wounded in the April following. He
was the eldest son of Mr. John A. M'Combie, 18 Bedford Place, Aberdeen,
and was only twenty-one years of age.
George M'Currach (M.A., 1908), Second Lieutenant, Highland Light In-
fantry, was killed in action in France, i July. He had only been about fifteen
days in France when he fell on the battle-field, in the notable forward movement
from Albert. Mr. M'Currach was educated at Fordyce Academy, and after
graduating at the University received an appointment in the Central School,
Fraserburgh, becoming headmaster of the Ruthven School, Cairnie, Aber-
deenshire, in 1 91 5. In April of that year he enlisted in the Gordon High-
landers, and in September joined the Highland Light Infantry on receiving a
commission. He was thirty-four years of age.
George Harper Macdonald (M.A., 1908), Second Lieutenant in the ■
Gordon Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 6 September. He was ■
a son of Mr. William Macdonald, janitor, Westfield School, Aberdeen, and after
graduating went to Dundee, where he was a teacher, in Butterburn school.
He joined the 3rd Highland Field Ambulance as a private on the outbreak of
hostilities, and about six months later received his commission, and was
gazetted to the Gordon Highlanders. With that, regiment he saw much severe
fighting, and was wounded at the beginning of the big advance in July. .
Making a rapid recovery, he was soon back in the firing line. He was twenty- .
nine years of age.
o^. Aberdeen University Review
Duncan Macgregor, Lance-Corporal, Machine Gun Section, 4th Gordon
Highlanders, who would have matriculated in 19 14 but for his call to military
service, was only eighteen years of age. He wore his stripe for only two or
three days before he fell in action near Hooge in Flanders on 25 September,
191 5. He was killed while rushing up the gun of which (with its team) he
was in charge, at the storming of a redoubt by the Battalion. Nearly all his
men were wounded and fell, and he had just succeeded under a terrific fire in
carrying his gun to the new position when he was shot through the head.
He was the son of Rev. Duncan Macgregor, Inverallochy.
Alfred Reginald MacRae (alumnus, 1904-8), Assistant Commissioner
of Police, died at Nasiriyeh, Mesopotamia, of cholera, on 2 July, while busily
occupied in the organization of a new police force throughout our recently-
acquired possessions in Mesopotamia. On leaving the University, Mr. Mac-
Rae took first place among the candidates for the Indian Police Service in
June, 1 908. He spent most of his service at Delhi, where he did excellent
work during the Imperial Coronation Durbar, and subsequently as an officer
of the New Delhi Province until April, 1915. On the acquisition of our new
territory on the Persian Gulf, his services were requisitioned from the Chief
Commissioner at Delhi, and he was placed on deputation with the Govern-
ment of India (Foreign and Political Department) for employment in Mesopo-
tamia as Assistant Commissioner of Police. In the important duties which
fell to his lot there, he showed tact and a thorough understanding of the
requirements of the authorities, and for his efficient work he gained high praise
from his superior officers, including the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab ;
the Inspector-General of Police, Punjab ; and the Chief Commissioner, Delhi.
Mr. MacRae, who was twenty-eight years of age, was the second son of Mr.
Donald MacRae, 123 Blenheim Place, Aberdeen.
Dr. Francis Walker Moir (M.B., CM., 1900) died at Ahwaz, Persia,
of pneumonia, on 24 July, aged fifty. Dr. Moir — who was a son of the late
Rev. A. F. Moir, minister of the Free (afterwards United Free) Church,
Woodside — served in the Boer War as a medical officer with the 26th Battalion
Imperial Yeomanry. He resided for many years in West Africa, and as
medical officer in the Wassau district of the Gold Coast did notable pioneer
work in the way of improving the conditions of the native population, and
making what has long been known as the "White Man's Grave" a place of
safety and comparative health. Not only did he carry out valuable work in
his official position, but he' placed the general health of the country on a
higher level than ever before, and his schemes for the future give promise of
being a great asset in the development of the country. He took a keen and
active interest in town planning, and was remarkably successful in various
schemes he carried out. On returning to Aberdeen several years ago. Dr.
Moir brought with him a very large and valuable collection of West African
curios, a portion of which he very generously handed over to Professor Reid
to be added to the collection in the Anthropological Museum at Marischal
College. He was subsequently appointed medical officer in the service of the
Anglo-British Oil Company in Mesopotamia.
Obituary 95
Alfred George Morris (Agricultural student, 191 1-2), Second Lieu-
tenant, Gordon Highlanders, died on 10 June of wounds received in action in
France. He was the younger son of Mr. W. J. Morris, Denbank, Forest
Road, Aberdeen, and was twenty- one years of age. After being educated at
Robert Gordon's College, he went to Canada, intending to take up farming,
and he spent some time on farms in Ontario and Manitoba, coming home
during the winter and attending the agricultural classes at the University.
He ultimately joined the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and was stationed at
Elgen, Manitoba, when the war broke out. He enlisted in the Scottish Horse,
and was given a commission in the Gordon Highlanders in August, 1915.
MuRDO Morrison Murray (M.A., 1908), Private, 5th Cameron High-
landers (Lochiel's), was killed in action at Loos on 25 September, 191 5. He
was first posted as " missing," but a private of his platoon subsequently de-
clared that he saw Murdo lying dead on the field after the battle. Murdo's
own brother led the platoon on the day on which Murdo fell. He (Murdo)
was a well-known athlete, distinguished especially in pole-vaulting and
wrestling ; he represented the University both at shinty and Rugby football.
He was trained in the Church of Scotland Training College, 1905-07 ; and ^.
when he enlisted in September, 19 14, he was a teacher in the service of the \
Leith School Board. He was thirty years of age.
Robert M. Riddel (Arts student). Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders, was
killed in action in France on i July, by the accidental explosion of a bomb
in his hands while he was explaining it to a class. His Lieutenant-Colonel,
in a letter to his mother, said — " He was an excellent officer in every way,
and had proved himself of great value in the field on many occasions ". He
was the third son of the late Mr. John Riddel, Townhead, Kintore, Aber-
deenshire.
Colin Mackenzie Selbie (B.Sc, 1910), Second Lieutenant, Scottish
Rifles, was killed in action in France on 15 July. He was the second son of
Professor John A. Selbie, D.D., of the United Free Church College, Aber-
deen, and shortly after graduating in Science was appointed Assistant Natura-
list in the National Museum, Dublin. He devoted himself with energy and
enthusiasm (said a note in " Nature ") to the collections of the Myriapoda and
Crustaceae and undertook to name a portion of the collections of Crustaceae
procured on the West Coast of Ireland during the fishing survey. He had
written several important papers on the subject, and had just completed for
official publication a volume on " Crustacea " when the war broke out. En-
listing first as a Private in the Royal Scots, he received in January, 191 5, a
commission as Second Lieutenant in the Scottish Rifles, and had been at the
front since November. In February he was wounded, but quickly resumed
his military duties.
Surgeon-Probationer Alexander L. Strachan, R.N.V.R. (medical
student), was lost at sea on 23 October off" H.M.S. ** Genista," a mine-sweeping
vessel which was torpedoed by an enemy submarine and sunk. He com-
menced studying medicine at the University in the summer of 191 3, and when
g6 Aberdeen University Review
the call came for surgeon-probationers for the Navy he, being then in his
third year at Medicine, volunteered, and early this year received his commis-
sion, being appointed to H.M.S. " Genista ". On his way to join his ship, he
arrived at Dublin in the middle of the rebellion and had to take charge of a
hospital there. His skill and attention after joining his ship were thoroughly
recognized, and he was the recipient of a special letter of thanks and a pre-
sentation by the officers and crew of a ship which was found in a sinking
condition a few months before the " Genista " was itself sunk. He was the elder
son of the late Mr. Alexander Strachan, chemist, Rosemount Place, Aberdeen,
and was twenty-one years of age.
Rev. William Urquhart (M.A., 1906 ; B.D., 1909), Lieutenant in the
Black Watch, was killed while leading his men in action in France on 16
August. After acting as assistant in New Greyfriars and Inveresk Churches,
he was elected minister of the parish of Kinloch-Rannoch, Perthshire, in 191 2.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war he enlisted in the Royal Scots as a
Private, but subsequently received a commission in the Black Watch. He
was a nephew of Mr. Andrew Urquhart, S.S.C., Edinburgh, and was in his
thirty-first year.
[Tke issue of this Number having been delayed owing to various causes,
several items of Personalia and Obituary have been noted since the foregoing pages
were compiled^ but must necessarily be held over. The list of University men who
have fallen in action or died of wounds or disease in the present war contained
by the end of November 12 j names. 1
THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, K.G.,
Chancellor of the University.
The '^^
Aberdeen University Review
Vol. IV. No. ii February, 191 7
®e4^P of t^t C^anuttot.
It is just three years since we had to record the death of Lord Strath-
cona at the age of ninety-four after eleven years of office over us.
Now we are called to mourn his successor at the comparatively early
age of sixty-seven and after but two years and nine months of his
Headship of the University. On 19 January the Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine, K.G, G.C.S.L, G.C.I.E., D.C.L., LL.D., Viceroy of India
from 1894 to 1899, Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1905 to
1908, Chairman of several Royal Commissions, Lord-Lieutenant of
the County of Fife, Chairman of the Carnegie Trust for the Uni-
versities of Scotland, and our own Chancellor, passed to his rest at
the family seat of Broomhall, near Dunfermline.
•The funeral took place on 23 January to the old Kirkyard of
Rosyth, on the shores of the Forth. In the sunshine of the winter
afternoon, the representative company of mourners and the whole cir-
cumstance of the funeral impressively reflected both the traditions to
which Lord Elgin succeeded and the many achievements of his own
career. The principal prayer at the service was offered by the
Minister of Dunfermline Abbey, with which the name of the Bruces
has been linked for centuries ; the Bishop of St. Andrews pronounced
the benediction and concluded the service at the grave ; and others
who took part were the Rector of the Episcopal Church in Dunferm-
line and the Minister in Limekilns of the United Free Church of Scot-
land— a combination which happily recalled the catholic spirit of the
Earl as well as his impartial labours in the settlement of a great ec-
clesiastical controversy. A long column of tenantry followed the
carriages of the chief mourners, with delegates from the many local
institutions and movements with which Lord Elgin was identified.
His Majesty the King was represented by the Duke of Montrose, and
7
98 Aberdeen University Review
the Navy and Army by several officers of high rank ; the naval base
at Rosyth is within sound and hearing of the kirkyard in which this
distinguished servant of the Empire rests from his labours. The
Carnegie Trust was represented by its Treasurer ; and the University
of Aberdeen by the Vice-Chancel lor.
At the same hour a memorial service was held in the University
Chapel, King's College, conducted by Professor Cowan and Professor
Fulton, and by Principal Iverach and Professor Stalker of the United
Free Church College. It was attended by the Lord Provost, the
Chancellor's Assessor and other members of the University Court, by
members of the Senatus, of the General Council, the Students' Repre-
sentative Council, the administrative staff of the University, and others.
At the time of Lord Elgin's installation as Chancellor we pub-
lished an account of his career and appreciation of his services to the
Empire, and in particular to the cause of higher education in Scot-
land, from Professor Matthew Hay, his colleague of many years on
the Carnegie Trust (Vol. I, pp. 209-18). The qualities of character
on which this full appreciation lays emphasis find a remarkable echo
in the following tribute that we are allowed to quote from a letter by
Viscount Bryce : —
"He was one of the most simple, sincere, and high-minded men
I have ever known. I was his colleague in the Cabinet and was
struck there by the perfect singleness of his aims, his consideration for
the views of others, and his unfailing good sense and openness of mind.
All that he did in public life was excellently done, and he will be
gratefully remembered in India as well as in Scotland and by the
public of the whole United Kingdom."
One who had the closest opportunities of knowing writes : " His
judgment was so unerringly right, and I never met a larger, nobler
mind. He was above everything unworthy, it was a mind wholly
without prejudice. I think his own words sum up his life, * I have
always tried to do my duty '."
We have only to add the expression of our sorrow in the too early
death of so distinguished a servant of his King and People, of our
sense of the loss to the University of a Chancellor of so mature and
impartial a mind, before the return of peace enabled us to profit by his
counsel, and of our deep and respectful sympathy with the Countess of
Elgin, the present Earl, and all their family in their sore bereavement.
The Westminster Standards of the Scottish
Churches/
VER fifty years ago I was a schoolboy in Aberdeen.
My schoolmaster was Mr William Rattray, I
knew then, I know it better now, that he was no
ordinary teacher. He taught me many things
that remain with me to this day, for my profit.
One of them was the Shorter Catechism. Our
text-book was written by himself : " The Shorter
Catechism analyzed and explained : in which the
Doctrines and Duties are connected with their Promises, Warnings,
and Experiences. London: 1863.'' It was only a paper-covered
manual of some 100 pages, but we were proud of the fact that our
teacher was the author of a real printed book, with his name on the
title-page. From his lessons I got my first notions not only of formal
" Doctrines and Duties," but of logic, of English style, of accuracy in
the use of words, and of the orderly march of a great argument. He
made his analysis of the Catechism the starting-point for excursions
into history, language, literature, and divinity. A ten-year old pupil
might not travel far in these excursions ; but vistas were opened up
to him, his interest was stirred, and a desire was implanted in him to
explore for himself. These effects on the pupil were no doubt within
our teacher's design. That Mr Rattray attained them is proof that he
was a true educator : and I gratefully recognise now that from these
lessons my true education began. At the time I was not conscious
of the teacher's aim or skill. I saw only that the new light of which
I became aware was breaking forth from the Shorter Catechism. It
was a beacon that marked for me a new intellectual departure. In
my memory Rattray's Analysis stands out, with two or three other
books, as ''a peak in Darien." So Keats felt on first reading Chap-
^ The Murtle Lecture delivered in the Mitchell Hall on Sunday, 19th November, 1916.
loo Aberdeen University Review
man's Homer ; though I suppose neither Chapman nor Rattray would
nowadays awake the like emotion in any of you. Shelley explained
the poet's thrill by affirming that the Keats of the famous sonnet was
" a Greek himself." Perhaps the Aberdeen schoolboy was already,
like Robert Louis Stevenson, '* something of the Shorter Catechist."
Be that as it may, when the perilous honour of the Murtle Lecture-
ship was conferred upon me at the hands of your Principal, it was
my remembrance of school-days in Aberdeen that suggested the sub-
ject of my discourse. The Principal was willing to accept my poor
brass in exchange for the gold he gave us in our University Chapel a
fortnight ago. He may have read the text of our ancient constitution,
under which the Principal of Glasgow, in right of his office, is First
Professor of Divinity ; but he must have overlooked the targum of
the commentators. This explains that " no Principal has taught
divinity since the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, except on the
occasion of incapacity on the part of the ordinary Professor of
Divinity." So, as I am neither by innate aptitude nor by homiletic
experience warranted in discoursing on things directly " profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,"
I propose to use my opportunity by recalling to your minds some his-
torical facts that are liable to be forgotten, regarding the Catechism
and other munimenta of the Scottish Churches. They are facts that
are worthy of remembrance, in the interest of Catholic Presbyterianism
and of British unity.
The Confession of Faith, the Catechisms, and the Metrical Psalms,
are often taken, both in England and in Scotland, to embody peculi-
arities of doctrine and worship that are aboriginally and characteristi-
cally Scottish. Many an Englishman will tell you that they are as
typical of John Knox and his Kirk as the heather which, as we know,
grows on every Scottish hillside, or the kilt which every Scotsman
habitually 'wears. And, on the other hand, many a worthy Scot is
proud to claim them as things " racy of the Scottish soil," Xh^ palla-
dium of our national religion, the very root whence " Auld Scotia's
grandeur springs."
It is worth while to remind the Scotsman that England had by
far the larger share in moulding these symbols of his nation ; and to
remind the Englishman that some of the wisest and most learned sons
of the Church of England were their first authors and true begetters.
I design therefore to show you that our great Church standards re-
The Westminster Standards loi
ceived their accepted form from Englishmen rather than from Scots-
men ; and, further, to make it plain that most of the Englishmen
concerned in their framing were connected with the University of
Cambridge. This I venture, as in private duty bound, because I am
a Cambridge man by nurture, and an English Presbyterian by adop-
tion. I want to help you, in the first place, to measure Scotland's
debt to the Presbyterians of Cambridge. But I want also to impress
on you that, in their origin, the standards are British rather than
Scottish, that they are international as between the two Kingdoms,
rather than sectional or provincial. For in the light of this fact we
can better understand their wide acceptance among the Churches of
our order, beyond Great Britain and beyond the Empire, wherever the
English language is spoken.
First then, I would speak of the part played by Cambridge men
in laying the foundations on which Scotland has built. And if by the
way I lay stress on the contributions made by men of my own College
of St John's, and of Emmanuel College, you will forgive my partiality
when I plead that, again and again in the course of the centuries,
these Colleges have fostered Presbyterian scholars, and that the tradi-
tion remains in force to-day. The Master of St John's, Dr Scott, is
a son of the Manse ; the Master of Emmanuel, Dr Giles, is an alumnus
of your own.
John Knox's two sons, Nathanael and Eleazer, were students of
St John's College. They matriculated there in 1572, eight days after
their father's death. In 1577 they graduated B.A., and each of them
was elected to a Fellowship. To Nathanael's Fellowship, on the Lady
Margaret Foundation, I was myself admitted three hundred years
after him, and I still hold it. Both sons were ordained Presbyters of
the Church of England. Nathanael died young. Eleazer became
Vicar of Clacton-Magna. His grave is placed within the area of the
old College Chapel in Cambridge.
Some ten years before the Knoxes entered the College, Thomas
Cartwright was Lady Margaret Fellow and Junior Dean. Just before
they matriculated he had been deprived of his Professorship of Divinity,
not by the College but by Vice-Chancellor Whitgift of Trinity, for his
outspoken advocacy of Presbyterian principles from his chair and from
the pulpit of St Mary's Church. His controversy with Whitgift on
Church government was the real occasion of Hooker's ** Ecclesiastical
Politie," though this was not published until twenty years later.
I02 Aberdeen University Review
In the year when Nathanael Knox became a Fellow, Cartwright
formulated a Presbyterian constitution for the Reformed Church in the
Channel Islands. More than that, he succeeded in persuading Queen
Elizabeth, very unwillingly, to give it legal sanction. Thus in the
oldest possession of the English Crown, for it came with William the
Conqueror, the Presbyterian Church was established by law ; and it
continued to flourish for fifty years, notwithstanding the ecclesiastical
distractions of the adjacent island of Great Britain. Cartwright and
his colleagues continued to strive mightily against the Queen's dislike
to Presbyterianism. In 1583, after refusing a Divinity Professorship
in St Andrews, he took part in formulating the "Wandsworth Order"
or Directory of Church-Government, which within a short space of
time was signed by 500 clergymen of the Church of England. They
sought to procure its adoption not merely as an alternative but as the
norm of ecclesiastical polity within the establishment. Among the
signatories, though he was no great friend of Cartwright, was one
known as the " oracle of Cambridge " ; whose erudition even in that
erudite age won the praise of Scaliger, Casaubon, and Bellarmine ;
and whose memory is still cherished, as one of the greatest of College
heads — William Whittaker, sometime Master of St John's and Canon
of Canterbury, the framer with Tyndal of the Lambeth Articles of
1595.
With Whittaker was his brother-in-law Lawrence Chadderton, the
first Master of Emmanuel College, of which John Harvard, the founder
of the great New England University at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
was a member. Chadderton lived to be one of the translators of the
Authorised Version of the Bible, and died at the age of 103 in the first
year of the Long Parliament. During his long life he had seen Pres-
byterians persecuted, exiled, disowned ; but they were not put down or
put out, certainly not in Cambridge. Within a year of his death five
Cambridge Presbyterians, all clergymen of the Church of England,
issued a pamphlet on Church Government which called forth a famous
piece of prose by one John Milton of Christ's College. The pamphlet
was called Smectymnuus^ from the initials of its authors — Stephen
Marshall of Emmanuel, Edmund Calamy of Pembroke, Thomas
Young, Milton's tutor and afterwards Master of Jesus College, Matthew
Newcomen of St John's, and William Spurstow, sometime Master of
St Catharine's. It was a Bishop, the learned Dr Wilkins, who de-
scribed the pamphlet as " a capital work against episcopacy." One of
The Westminster Standards 103
John Milton's phrases in his Apology for Smectymnuus is worth quot-
ing : " So little is it I fear lest any crookedness or wrinkle be found
in Presbyterial Government . . . that every real Protestant will con-
fess it to be the only true Church Government." He afterwards
changed his opinion, as poets do, especially when they take up politics.
Alas! if it had not been for politics, Cambridge men might have
succeeded in retaining some form of Presbyterial polity within the
Church of England to this day. They came very near success. With-
in a few months of the summoning of the Long Parliament in London,
King Charles the First gave his royal assent to an Act of the Parlia-
ment of Scotland, declaring that " the government of the Church by
Bishops is repugnant to the Word of God." And very soon after-
wards the King signed an Act passed by the Lords and Commons of
England, which abolished the right of the bishops to sit as Peers in
the English Parliament. Thrice already the same Lords and Commons
had sent up a Bill for' the summoning of an ecclesiastical assembly to
advise as to the settlement of Church affairs in England. Thrice the
King refused his assent, and then the Civil War began. Parliament
thereupon took the matter into its own hands. In January 1643, it
passed an Ordinance abolishing episcopacy in the Church ; and in
June it passed another ** for the calling of an Assembly of learned and
godly Divines and others ... for the settling of the Government
and Liturgy of the Church of England." It met in Henry VI Fs
Chapel within the Abbey of Westminster in July of the same year.
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in the following
August issued a commission to five ministers and three elders, author-
ising them to repair to Westminster, and to treat with their English
brethren in all things " which may further the union of this Island in
one form of Kirk-Government." Among them were Samuel Ruther-
ford, afterwards Rector of St Andrews, Alexander Henderson, Rector
of Edinburgh, and sometime Chaplain to the King, Robert Baillie,
afterwards Principal of Glasgow, and George Gillespie, of Greyfriars,
Edinburgh. A year before Henderson had written to Baillie : " I
cannot think it expedient that anie Confession of Faith, Direction for
Worshipe, Forme of Government, or Cathechism Less or more, should
be agreed upon and authorized by our Kirk till we sie what the Lord
will doe in England and Ireland, where I still wait for a reformation
and uniformitie with us . . . We are not to conceave that they will
embrace our Forme ; but a new Forme must be sett down for us
I04 Aberdeen University Review
all, and in my opinion some men sett apairt sometime for that
worke." ^
The Scottish Commissioners were not members of the Westminster
Assembly : they were Assessors who might speak but not vote. They
were however joined to all Committees formed for the preparation of
business.
We are told that many of the persons summoned by the Ordinance,
"in that broken state of the Church, appeared not: whereupon the
whole work lay on the hands " of some 94 English members, with 6
of the Scottish assessors. Of the latter the four I have mentioned
were the most active. The Chairman or Prolocutor was Dr Twisse,
the Vice-Chairmen or Assessors, Dr Burgess and Mr White. The
latter was the great-grandfather of John Wesley, and the author of a
Catechism. All three were Oxford men. But two of the Clerks
or Secretaries were Cambridge men : Byfield and Wallis, both of
Emmanuel College.
And now let me mention some of those who appear from the
Minutes of the Assembly to have taken the main part in framing the
great documents that were the outcome of its labours — the Confession
of Faith, the Larger and the Shorter Catechisms. I will take them as
they come in the official list.
Herbert Palmer, of St John's College, afterwards President of Queens'.
He wrote the " Christian Paradoxes," a work which was long at-
tributed to Francis Bacon. Baillie calls him the "gracious and
learned little Palmer." He was the author of a Catechism,
printed at Cambridge in 1640.
William Bridge, fellow of Emmanuel, and afterwards "High Pastor"
of Rotterdam.
Thomas Goodwin, of Christ's, fellow of St Catharine's and afterwards
President of Magdalen, Oxford. It was he who attended Crom-
well on his deathbed. You will know him as one of the
^ "Puritan Divines" beloved of Principal Whyte.
William Gouge, an Eton man, fellow of King's College and President
of Sion College, London. He was offered the Provostship of
King's, but declined it. He had published "A Short Cate-
chism," which had run through many editions before the As-
sembly met.
^Baillie's Letters, II. 2.
The Westminster Standards 105
Stephen Marshall, of Emmanuel, who preached Pym's funeral sermon,
and ministered to Archbishop Laud before his execution. Baillie
calls him "the best of preachers in England."
Anthony Tuckney, Master of Emmanuel and then Vice-Chancellor
and Master of St John's, and Regius Professor of Divinity. His
period of rule over the College was marked by the number of
brilliant scholars, the " ornaments of the following age," who were
then trained in St John's.
Jeremiah Burroughes, of Emmanuel, known as the " Morning Star of
Stepney." It was Richard Baxter, of the Saint's Rest, who de-
clared " that if all the bishops had been of the same spirit as
Archbishop Ussher, the independents like Jeremiah Burroughes,
and the presbyterians like Stephen Marshall, the divisions of the
Church would soon have been healed."
Lazarus Seaman, of Emmanuel, afterwards Master of Peterhouse and
Vice-Chancellor — "an invincible disputant."
Thomas Hill, fellow of Emmanuel, then Master of Trinity and Vice-
Chancellor.
John Arrowsmith, Master of St John's, then Master of Trinity, Vice-
Chancellor, and Regius Professor of Divinity.
John Lightfoot, of Christ's, afterwards Master of St Catharine's and
Vice-Chancellor, according to Clarke "one of the first of English
writers in Biblical Criticism"; but in Baillie's phrase "a down-
right Erastian," the friend and ally of John Selden of the Table
Talk.
Thomas Young, Master of Jesus : the Scotsman who was Milton's
tutor at Christ's.
Sidrach Simpson, of Emmanuel, and "j^ each in turn
Richard Vines, of Magdalene, J Master of Pembroke.
Thomas Gattaker, of St John's, who won the title of " helluo librorum,"
a devourer of books. Hallam says that, after Ussher, Gattaker
was the most learned divine then in England. He also had
written a Short Catechisme.
William Spurstow, Master of St Catharine's.
Mathew Newcomen, of St John's.
John Bond, Master of Trinity Hall and Vice-Chancellor.
Samuel Boulton, Master of Christ's and Vice-Chancellor.
Edward Reynolds, an Oxford man as well as a Cambridge graduate,
who became Warden of Merton. He was styled " the pride and
io6 Aberdeen University Review
glory of the Presbyterian party," and even after he accepted the
Bishopric of Norwich " continued in heart and judgment a Pres-
byterian."
And of the Assistants or Clerks I mention
John Wallis, of Emmanuel and Queens', and Savilian Professor of
Geometry at Oxford. He was one of the founders of the Royal
Society, and one of the most original of English Mathematicians.
" Wallis's Theorem " perpetuates his name in our text-books.
He was a pioneer of the differential calculus, and gave us the
algebraical symbol for infinity (oo ).
You will admit that this is a goodly list. It does not exhaust the
number of Cambridge men in the Assembly, though I fear it may
have exhausted your patience. It includes thirteen heads of Colleges,
many of whom served in their turn as Vice-Chancellors of the Uni-
versity. It suffices however to show that the tradition established by
men like Cartwright two generations before had persisted and borne
fruit. Cambridge gave of its best to the Westminster Assembly, and
the records show how greatly Cambridge Presbyterians helped to
mould, with characteristic precision and thoroughness, the documents
which made the Assembly famous. The cautious Hallam goes so far
as to say that the Assembly was " perhaps equal in learning, good
sense, and other merits, to any Lower House of Convocation that
ever made a figure in England." Dr Thomas Guthrie, with a Scots-
man's fervour, goes further, and calls it: "An Assembly for piety,
learning, and talents, the greatest, perhaps, that ever met in England
or anywhere else."
The Assembly spent many months on a revision of the XXXIX
Articles and the Book of Common Prayer. But the time was found
to be spent in vain, for in 1645 the English Parliament, on the As-
sembly's advice, "judged it necessary that the Book of Common
Prayer be abolished, and that the Directory for the Public Worship
of God [drawn up by the Assembly] be established and observed in
all the churches within this kingdom."
Committees, to which the Scottish Commissioners were attached,
were presently set up for the drafting of the Confession of Faith and
the Catechisms. The exact share taken by the Scottish Commis-
sioners in the Confession is not always easy to determine from the
Minutes. But it is to me significant that Professor Alexander
The Westminster Standards 107
Mitchell of St Andrews, who edited these records for the Church of
Scotland with scrupulous care, should write that the " Confession was
not derived from foreign sources, either German or Dutch, but that
both in its general plan and in the tenor of its more important articles^
it was drawn from native sources other than Scotch." ^
In the Committee of 19 members appointed in 1644 **to prepare
matter for a joint Confession of Faith," I observe that the majority
are Cambridge men, and the majority of these are Johnians. And I
note that, on 10 February 1645, an order was made *' That the Com-
mittee for the North and the heads of Colleges in Cambridge that are
of this Assembly do meet this afternoon, and prepare a petition to be
presented to both Houses of Parliament for the settling of a way of
ordination in the several presbyteries."
In January 1646, after the Assembly had given some months to
the discussion of a single Catechism, it was ordered, on the motion of
Dr Vines, Master of Pembroke, "That the Committee for the Cate-
chism do prepare a draught of two catechisms, one more large and
another more brief, in which they are to have an eye to the Confession
of Faith, and to the matter of the Catechism already begun." Thus
was initiated the departure which gave us the Larger Catechism, for
admiration rather than for use, and the Shorter Catechism, which has
entered into the blood of Catholic Presbyterianism.
By the time the draft Catechisms, the Larger being the first, had
come on for discussion in the Assembly, a number of the Scottish
Commissioners had departed. While the Shorter Catechism was
" perfecting " Samuel Rutherford alone remained. The first Convener
of the drafting Committee which began to prepare this historic docu-
ment was Herbert Palmer of St John's and Queens'. He had written
a Catechism of his own, and he had had much to do with the first or
abortive draft. Of this latter Baillie writes that though Palmer is
*' the best catechist in England, yet we no ways like it." It was the
method, not the matter, that displeased his colleagues. His ** method
was to have a double set of questions and answers. The answers to-
the first set were each to contain a complete statement of the truth,
independent of the question, as in the [present] Shorter Catechism.
The second set of questions and answers were to break up the state-
ments in the first set, by a series of questions answered by a Yes or
* Mitchell and Struthers : Minutes of Westminster Assembly.
io8 Aberdeen University Review
No." In Samuel Rutherford's words he had attempted "to dress up
meat and milk both in one dish." Palmer appears to have undertaken
the re-dressing of the dish of meat, but he had made but little way
when he fell into a serious illness and died. As soon as the Larger
Catechism was ready, the work was taken up again by a new Com-
mittee. It included Tuckney, Marshall, and Arrowsmith. The
Secretary was ordered to write in the name of the Assembly to get
Tuckney excused from attendance at Cambridge, where term had just
begun, " because of the special employment imposed upon him by the
Assembly." Tuckney, with Arrowsmith, had taken the chief part in
framing the Larger Catechism, and he now became Convener of the
Committee for the Shorter. The work was rapidly pushed forward,
and before it was ended the help of the Cambridge mathematician
Wallis was enlisted. On the day after the first draft of the Shorter
Catechism was presented, the last representative of Scotland took his
leave, and the further shaping and polishing were left entirely to
English hands.
Professor Mitchell says : " Though in Scotland, as elsewhere, this
Catechism has been deservedly the most popular of all the productions
of the Assembly, it was the one with the elaboration of which the
Scotch Commissioners had least to do. Henderson had left and had
died before the Confession was completed. Baillie left immediately
after it was finished, and took down with him a copy of the first edition,
without proofs. Gillespie, after repeated petitions to be allowed to
return home, received permission to leave in May 1647 . . . while the
debates on the Larger Catechism were still going on, and the answer
to the question * What is God ? ' — with which his name has been
traditionally associated — had not as yet been adjusted for that Cate-
chism, much less for the Shorter one. Even Rutherford had been
seized with a fit of home-sickness, and wrote that he did not think the
elaboration of this Catechism of sufficient importance to detain him
from his College and his flock at St Andrews. At any rate, though
persuaded to remain till it had passed, so to speak, the first reading,
he does not seem to have left his distinctive mark upon it. Not the
faintest trace of that wealth of homely imagery, which enriches the
MS catechism attributed to him, is to be found in the Assembly's
Shorter Catechism. From first to last, in its clear, condensed, and
at times almost frigidly logical definitions, it appears to me to give un-
mistakeable evidence of its having passed through the alembic of Dr
The Westminster Standards
09
Wallis, the great Mathematician, the prot^g^ and friend of Palmer."
Palmer, as you will remember, was " the best catechist in England."
The earliest exposition of the Shorter Catechism was that published
by Wallis in 1648. In pious memory of his friend he describes it as
" A brief and easie Explanation of the Shorter Catechism . . . where-
in the meanest capacities may in a speedie and easie way be brought
to understand the principles of Religion. An imitation of a Catechism
formerly published by Mr Herbert Palmer, B.D."
For the Shorter Catechism, then, we are mainly indebted to two
men each of whom in turn was Master of St John's, Vice-Chancellor,
and Regius Professor of Divinity, and each Master of another Cam-
bridge College as well : and to two others who were of Emmanuel
College, one of them a great mathematician who, like many another
Cambridge man, was called to be a Professor at Oxford. And if we
ask whose single hand is the most manifest in the composition, con-
temporary testimony and tradition alike point to Dr Anthony Tuckney,
Vice-Chancellor in 1648, a divine whose good sense was as great as
his learning. A story of him still survives at St John's, which gives
the character of the man and the lesson he taught his College. I have
heard it quoted at elections there. When some persons of influence
pressed on him the claims of a ''truly godly" candidate for a fellow-
ship, in whose favour little else could truthfully be said, the Master
answered : " No man has a greater respect than I have for the ' truly
godly ' ; but I am determined to choose none but scholars. They
may deceive me in their godliness ; they cannot in their scholarship."
Calamy tells us that " many of the answers in the Larger Catechism,
and particularly the exquisite exposition of the Commandments, I am
informed were his, and were continued for the most part in the very
words he brought in." When you compare the Larger with the
Shorter Catechism under this head, you will know to whom we should
attribute that famous catena of questions, which exercised our youthful
intellects, and perhaps strained our youthful memories. Things " re-
quired," things " forbidden," and " reasons annexed," are Tuckney's
handiwork.
The Shorter Catechism has been justly characterised as "the
ripest fruit of the Assembly's thought and experience." It matured
and fixed the definitions towards which Puritanism for half a century
had been leading up in its " legion of catechisms." But it differs
widely from these in its catholicity. " It has nothing of church cen-
no Aberdeen University Review
sures, church Courts, or church affairs. Nay, it does not even give a
definition of the Church, visible or invisible, like the Larger Catechism
and the Confession of Faith." The only reference to the word
" Church " is in the answer to the question : " To whom is Baptism to
be administered ? " All it says of " members of the Visible Church "
is that their "infants" "are to be baptized." It unchurches no
Christian : the only articulus stantis Ecclesice it gives is Christian
Baptism. " It would seem [Mitchell says ^] as if in this their simplest
yet noblest symbol the Assembly wished, as far as Calvinists could
do so, to eliminate all that was subordinate or unessential — all relat-
ing to the mere organisation of Christians as an external community
— all in which they differed from sound Protestant Episcopalians on
the one hand, and from the less unsound of the Sectaries upon the
other, and to make a supreme effort to provide a worthy catechism in
which all the Protestant youth in the land might be trained. So
highly was the effort appreciated at the time that the King [no doubt
with the sanction of (Archbishop) Ussher and his fellow-chaplains], in
some of his latest negotiations with the Parliament, offered to license
it, while still hesitating to accept the Directories for Public Worship
and for Church Government as they had been drawn up by the As-
sembly." The non-conformist Richard Baxter spoke of it as " a most
excellent summary of the Christian faith and doctrine," and preferred
it " to any of the Writings of the Fathers." The episcopalian Arch-
bishop Leighton said its statements on the divine decrees, as these
were expounded by Augustine and Calvin, were " few, sober, clear,
and certain." The royalist Thomas Watson founded his well-known
" Body of Practical Divinity "on the Shorter Catechism. And John
Wesley, in a later generation, printed and issued a special edition of
it for the use of " the people called Methodists."
In September 1648 the Catechism was ordered by the English
Parliament to be printed and published in London under the title :
"The Grounds and Principles of Religion contained in a Shorter
Catechism ... to be used throughout the kingdomes of Great
Britain." In the following year it was published in Edinburgh as
" approved by the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, to be a
part of uniformity in Religion between the Kirks of Christ in the
three Kingdoms." It was thus expressly set forth as a pledge of the
* Mitchell : Catechisms of the Second Reformation,
The Westminster Standards iii
future unity of the British Churches. Baillie tells us how, in the
General Assembly of 1648, he '* gott in the Catechise ; but no more :
we passed this, both the Larger and Shorter, as a part of uniformitie ;
but we thought the Shorter too long, and too high for our common
people and children, and so put it in Mr David Dickson's hand, to
•draw it shorter and clearer." But happily what was in the end ap-
proved by the General Assembly was the Catechism as we know it,
not Mr Dickson's abbreviation : and the General Assembly's approval
was ratified by the Estates of the Scottish Parliament on 7 February
1649.
Thus the Scottish Church and Nation adopted for their own the
cardinal documents that had been elaborated in England by the
Westminster Divines. In the interest of uniformity they waived their
inherent rights of amendment and alteration, and accepted loyally the
texts that had been so ably and loyally formulated by members of the
Church of England, as yet undivided by a schismatical " Act of Uni-
formity." I have sought to show that of these English Churchmen,
many of the most effective were Cambridge men, among whom a
striking proportion were connected with the Colleges of St John's and
£mmanuel. Let me now remind you of another of our debts to
Englishmen, though it is perhaps more often forgotten in England
than in Scotland.
The Metrical Psalms are generally thought of, in both countries,
as peculiarly Scotch. In the South, people are apt to scoff a little at
their halting metre and imperfect rhymes, their prosaic diction, their
general baldness and bluntness. The " Scotch Psalms," they say, in-
<iicate a certain crudity in our notions of worship, and a certain lack
of literary culture in the matter of devotional expression, that marks
us as inferior to the Anglican. I remember a "superior" Eton man
who used almost these words in relating his experience of the service
in a Highland Parish Church. I had some satisfaction in informing
him that the first author of our so-called Scottish Version of the
Psalms was an Oxford man, who was Provost of Eton for 14 years :
and that both Houses of the English Parliament had given his version
preference over others that were in use within the Church of England.
Francis Rous, the son of a Cornish knight, was a member of the
House of Commons, and afterwards a Lord of Parliament. He was
an Oxford graduate, a student of the Middle Temple, and a man of
great learning and distinction. In the " Little Parliament " he oc-
112 Aberdeen University Review
cupied the Speaker's Chair. He was a lay member of the Assembly
of Divines, and took a creditable share in its labours. His *' Psalms
of David in English Meeter" was in 1643 ordered by Parliament to
be published for general use. He revised it, after it had been con-
sidered by the Assembly, and the new edition was again issued by
the authority of Parliament in 1646, with the order "that the said
Psalms, and none other, shall after the first day of January next be
sung in all churches and chapels within the Kingdom of England,.
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwicke-upon-Tweede."
Not till eighteen months afterwards did the General Assembly at
Edinburgh pass an " Act for revising the Paraphrase of the Psalmes
brought from England." In September 1649 Baillie writes : "I think
at last we shall gett a new Psalter. I have furthered that work ever
with my best wishes ; but the scruple now aryses of it in my mind —
the first author of the translation, Mr Rous, my good friend, has com-
plyed with the Sectaries [Rous had joined the Independents] and is
a member of their republick : how a Psalter of his framing, albeit with
much variation, shall be receaved by our Church, I doe not well know ;
yet it is needful we should have one, and a better in haste we cannot
have."
A Commission was appointed to examine and revise " the Para-
phrase of the Psalmes sent from England," chiefly in respect of the
measures of some psalms, which were not adapted to the " common
tunes" used in Scotland. In January 1649 a printed copy of "Rows
Paraphrase," as corrected, was sent to Presbyteries to be carefully
perused, with the quaint admonition that : "it is not enough to finde
out faults except yee also set downe your owne essay correcting the
same." At length in December 1649 the Commission approved the
Psalter as amended, " authorising the same to be the only paraphrase
of the Psalmes of David to be sung in the Kirk of Scotland " after the
first of May 1650. In addition to Rous's versions, a few alternatives
in a different metre were included from the older Psalter of the Scottish
Church. This again was based on that of Sternhold and Hopkins,
also brought from England nearly a century before. This " old and
usuall " paraphrase, which dates from the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
is still in use in the English Church, and is republished from time to
time as "received by publick authority." The familiar terms "Old
Hundredth," " Old 124th," and the like, refer to the tunes and versions
of this our earlier Anglo-Scottish Psalter.
The Westminster Standards 113
The Scottish Committee of Estates confirmed the action of the
Assembly's Commission, and in January 1650 ordained that the
"English Paraphrase," as they called it, and no other, was "to be
made use of throughout this Kingdom."
Thus, not without much deliberation and many discussions, the
Psalms of Francis Rous, reduced when necessary to the common metre
of "eight syllabs" with '*the second line of six," became the "Scotch
Psalms," which during 260 years have served for the utterance, in
praise and prayer, of our highest and deepest religious emotions.
Samuel Rutherfurd and George Gillespie, in forwarding the book from
Worcester House, London, to Edinburgh, commended it to their
countrymen with the words : " it will be found as neir the originall
as any Paraphrase in meeter can readily be, and much neerer than
other works of that kynd, which is a good compensation to mak up
the want of that Poeticall liberty and sweet pleasant running which
some desire."
Dr Beattie, the author of ''The Minstrel," once Master of the
Aberdeen Grammar School, and Professor in Marischal College, was
not prepossessed in its favour. But after speaking of the earlier ver-
sions, he says that " this, notwithstanding its many imperfections, I
cannot help thinking the best. The numbers are often harsh and in-
correct, there are frequent obscurities and some ambiguities in the
style. . . . Yet in this Version there is a manly, though severe,
simplicity, without any affected refinement, and there are many
passages so beautiful as to stand in need of no emendation."
Scotsmen who have been nurtured on the Psalms in Metre, and on
the sacred associations that cluster round them, as ivy clusters round
a rugged tower of ancient times, will endorse this verdict. But it will
do them no harm to remember that the tower was founded and builded
by an Englishman.
The Paraphrases and Hymns, appended to the Psalter, are highly
composite in their authorship. They were finally " allowed to be used
in public worship, in congregations where the Minister finds it for
edification"; but they were never "ordained" by the Assembly as
were the Psalms. Few of them retain their original form ; but here
again it is worth noting, in support of my general thesis, that about
one-half of them were based on the work of English writers, such as
Isaac Watts, of the Hymns, Philip Doddridge, of the Rzse and Progress,
Nahum Tate, the poet-laureate, and Joseph Addison, of the Spectator.
8
114 Aberdeen University Review
Dr McCrie comments on a fact which must have impressed it-
self upon you more than once during this lecture. The Scottish
Church was ready to abandon her simple Confession and rudimental
Catechisms for the more elaborate productions of the English divines,
to exchange her " Book of Common Order " for an English " Direc-
tory," and her old Psalter with its four-part tunes, to which her people
had long been accustomed, for a new Psalm-book, without any tunes,
composed by an English Parliamentarian. The English Presby-
terians, on the other hand, soon gave up the standards they had
framed. In Scotland these standards were not only received by the
Church, and sanctioned by Acts of the Scottish Parliament, but were
solemnly sworn and subscribed throughout the whole land. But the
English Parliament, at whose instance the standards were drawn up,
never gave them the sanction of law. The English divines by whom
they were composed never subscribed them, nor intended that they
should be subscribed, by ministers or communicants.
The difference in the histories of the two countries is partly due to
their differing temperaments, partly to their differing stages of evolu-
tion. Scotland was ready and eager for a " covenanted uniformity."
The Church was fully organised as a self-governing commonwealth.
It knew its own mind, and it did not hesitate to adopt formulae which
expressed that mind with lucidity and logic, even though the expres-
sion was first uttered by alien voices. In England the Church then,
as now, was a loose aggregation of divergent parties, each striving
for ascendency, and with no recognised organ of corporate expression.
The nation was no more coherent than the Church. Neither English
Church nor English nation had any real passion for uniformity, for
organisation, or for logic. In Church and State feudal traditions
were deeply rooted. They survive still in social and ecclesiastical
usage. The system of popular education initiated and fostered by
John Knox and his successors gave the Scottish people a power of
apprehension that enabled all classes to assimilate what the minds of
the best Englishmen had prepared. And they valued Christian unity
more than their own native religious idiom. In England the labours
of its own great men were unappreciated, because the people at large
were too uninstructed or too indifferent to understand them. The
masses " cared for none of these things." The upper classes were
obsessed by political prejudice. The prophets of the W^estminster
Assembly were without honour in their own country. But we, who
The Westminster Standards 115
have entered into their labours, and have reaped where they sowed,
will not refuse them our meed of gratitude and praise. England
political may not need nor breed another Protector, but it may be that
England ecclesiastical will some day need a second Assembly of
Divines, conformist and non-conformist, ''that [in the words of the
Ordinance of 1643] such a government shall be settled in the Church,
as may be . . . most apt to procure and preserve the peace of the
Church at home, and nearer agreement with the Church of Scotland,
and other Reformed Churches abroad."
When that day comes — and it may be less remote than we think —
the ** nearer agreement with the Church of Scotland " will be furthered
if the Scottish Churches, which hold in honour the standards derived
from the first Assembly, are already re-united into a Church National
and autonomous ; and if Scotsmen are conscious of the ancient debt
to English Churchmen, and the English Universities, which I have
endeavoured to recall to your remembrance.
A Church of Scotland, National and free, will be great and wise
enough to undertake, in the interest of unity and truth, the task of
revising the standards, in the light which has broken forth from the
Word of God since they were first framed. In this century the
Churches are learning to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gives
them utterance. The Westminster Assembly expressed the Christian
belief in language that was clear and unambiguous to its own gener-
ation. It lies as a duty on the Church that is to be that it should
express that belief in language ''understanded of the people" of this
generation. And in fulfilling this duty it will be doing honour to the
noble declarations, which all who subscribe the Confession thereby
affirm and approve, namely that: **God alone is Lord of the con-
science . . . and the requiring of an implicit faith and blind obedi-
ence is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also " ; and again :
" All Synods and Councils, since the Apostles' times, whether general
or particular, may err, and many have erred ; therefore they are not
to be made the rule of faith and practice, but to be used as a help to
both."
DONALD MACALISTER.
The Evolution of Matter.
[HE ultimate constitution of matter is a subject which
has always exercised a powerful attraction upon the
minds of men. Philosophical speculations of the
essential unity of all matter and of the possibility
of transforming the different kinds into one another
have come down to us from the ancients. The
modern science of Chemistry had its origin in the
actual attempts at such transformation or transmutation made by the
alchemists in the Middle Ages. These attempts centred around the
transmutation of lead or other base metal into gold, and the alchemists
believed that there existed and spent their lives trying to discover a
" philosopher's stone " to which was ascribed the power to effect this
transmutation in almost unlimited amount. The philosophers stone
was also credited with acting as a universal medicine, prolonging life
and health indefinitely, or at least to periods rivalling those enjoyed
by the Hebrew patriarchs of old. Whether these ideas were wholly
the inventions of charlatans, or whether they were the distorted
parrot-like repetitions of the wisdom of a lost Atlantis, none can
now say. But it may be remarked that sober modern science of
to-day sees in the power to effect transmutation of the elements the
power to prolong the physical welfare of the community for indefinite
periods. Indeed, without some such discovery the phase of civiliza-
tion, ushered in by science, must from its very nature be but transi-
tory. We are spending improvidently in a year the physical means
of life that would have sufficed our ancestors for a century, and the
exhaustion of the available supplies of energy, upon which the present
era of the world relies, is already no longer a remotely distant prospect.
So long as the world was supposed to be six days older than man
and man a creature of the last 6000 years, the idea that we were
" the first that ever burst " into the silent sea of science was pardon-
able enough. Possibly we were not. Just as no one would feel
The Evolution of Matter 117
qualified to write a history of this country from materials gleaned
from the newspapers of the present century, so no one ought to be
so bold as to attempt to write a history of the human race from such
written records as now exist, the most ancient of which go back to a
time when the race was quite inappreciably younger than it is to-day.
Neither is there any very valid ground for the belief that the startling
advance civilization had made in the past hundred or so years is in
any way the climax or natural culmination of the slow and by no
means even continuous progress previously. It seems rather a sudden
forward leap apparently unconnected with and certainly not culminat-
ing necessarily out of the periodic ebb and flow of human fortune of
which history tells. It is the work of a mere handful of men. The
mass probably are little more scientific to-day than they were two
thousand years ago, and this being the case, the advance does not
appear to be the inauguration of the millennium, nor, indeed, of any
other prolonged period of stable regime. Nothing but the most
sublime egoism, the unconscious constitutional disability of the natural
man to conceive of a universe not revolving around himself, can make
it appear improbable that what occurred so suddenly and mysteriously
in the past few centuries of recorded history may not have occurred
before, not once but perhaps many times during the vastly longer
period of which no record has yet been interpreted. It is only right
to consider the possibility that the command exercised over Nature
in the twentieth century may have been attained, possibly exceeded,
previously.
However that may be, however slender may be the justification
for such a view, and still more however fanciful it may seem to seek
that justification in the rigmarole of alchemical charlatans of the
Middle Ages, the fact remains that science to-day would ascribe to
the problem of the ultimate constitution of matter, and the practical
achievement of the problem of the transmutation of the elements, an
importance and significance that cannot but be flattering to the
instincts of the human mind over which these problems have for so
long exerted a most powerful fascination.
Twenty years ago not a single valid fact was known to science
about transmutation. To-day we may watch it going on, in the case
of certain elements, spontaneously before our eyes, as it seems to have
been going on, all unsuspected, from the beginning of time.
But till 1896 the universal experience of physical and chemical
ii8 Aberdeen University Review
science was that the atoms of the chemical elements are the ultimate
constituents out of which matter is built up and, in all processes then
known and in every kind of change that matter undergoes, these
remain unchanged and unchangeable. What did Clerk Maxwell
say? The words of his British Association address at Bradford in
1873 have often been quoted, but they are so true, not only of the
knowledge of his day, but are still true of all processes known before
the fateful year 1 896, that they may be recalled again : —
''Natural causes, as we know, are at work which tend to modify,
if they do not at length destroy, all the arrangements and dimensions
of the earth and the whole solar system. But though in the course
of ages catastrophes have occurred and may yet occur in the heavens,
though ancient systems may be dissolved and new systems evolved
out of their ruins, the molecules ^ out of which these systems are
built — the foundation stones of the material universe — remain un-
broken and unworn."
Modern chemistry has at hand incomparably more powerful
methods of experiment than were known to the alchemist. But the
foundation stones of the material universe still remained unbroken and
unworn.
After having been attacked without success by the alchemist with
fanatical fervour and devotion, after having eluded the utmost efforts
of the chemist to change them, until at last he had accepted his defeat
as the firm basis on which to build his science, the eighty or so ele-
ments, that had been discovered and recognized, possessed a reputa-
tion for permanence and unchangeability that was unique in the whole
universe of reality. Thus far and no further into the analysis of matter
experiment had penetrated. Beyond there was nothing but specula-
tion and imagination — plenty of both, but not of much value in
science, apart from experimental knowledge, and least of all, perhaps,
in favour with the " sceptical chemist ". He knew the elements as a
shepherd is supposed to know his flock, their properties, the com-
pounds they form in such wealth and variety, their spectra, and the
relative weights of their atoms, down to the merest minutiae and with
an accuracy unsurpassed in quantitative science.
He discovered the most curious family resemblances between them,
1 Clerk Maxwell was a physicist. If he had been a modern chemist he would have
used the word atoms where he uses molecules.
The Evolution of Matter 119
some being so similar in their whole character and so regular even in
their differences that no discipline of the imagination could entirely
suppress the private question, "What are they?" even though the
memory of those early heresies about transmutation and the unity
of matter made it bad form to romance about them. Lastly, he
made, when he put out the elements in the order of the relative
weights of their atoms, — beginning with hydrogen, the lightest atom,
and ending with uranium, the heaviest, — a sweeping generalization
about them known as the Periodic Law. Essentially this is that
nearly the whole of the properties of the elements are periodically
recurring functions of their atomic weights. The tenth element in
the list has a close family resemblance to the second, the eleventh to
the third, the twelfth to the fourth, and so on to the seventeenth which
is like the ninth. The eighteenth is like the second and tenth, the
nineteenth like the third and eleventh. Hydrogen, the first element,
stands alone and has no analogues. After the twenty-second element,
titanium, a change in the nature of the periodicity occurs, which be-
comes more complex. Another very abrupt change occurs at the
fifty-sixth element, barium, when the rare-earth elements commence.
These, the next thirteen or fourteen elements, all resemble one another
with extreme closeness, in direct contradiction to what occurs with the
elements both before and after them in the list. At the seventy-third
element, tantalum, the law departed from at the fifty-sixth element is
reverted to again as if it had never been interrupted, and goes on till the
last element, uranium, is reached. This was a veritable cryptogram
challenging interpretation, and although far from deciphered the first
step in the finding of the key has now been taken. The Periodic
Law is Nature as it is, not as we would have it, or as we would have
made it, if the making of it had been ours. There are some curious
minor exceptions even in its very arbitrary regularities. At first, also,
gaps had to be left for missing elements to satisfy the scheme, and so
the existence of elements not yet discovered, and even their very pro-
perties, were predicted, and in the majority of cases these predictions
have been verified by the subsequent discovery of the missing members.
With regard to the very simplest constituents, into which the
material universe has been resolved, there is thus a veritable tangle
of complex relationships in contrast to that craving for simplicity,
symmetry, and order which the mind is always attempting to satisfy
in its interpretations of the external world.
I20 Aberdeen University Review
In 1896 one of the elements, uranium, the last on the list, was
discovered by Becquerel in Paris to possess a new property. It was
described as radioactive to signify that it was continually and spon-
taneously emitting a new' kind of radiation, analogous in its chief
characteristics to the X-rays of Rontgen, discovered the year pre-
viously. M. and Mme. Curie then showed that thorium, the element
next to uranium in atomic weight, possessed a similar property, but,
with the doubtful exception of two others, potassium and rubidium,
none of the other elements then known show the least evidence of
radioactivity. Going back to the natural minerals in which uranium
occurs, such as pitchblende, M. and Mme. Curie discovered therein
several intensely radioactive new elements in almost infinitesimal
quantity, the best known of which is radium. The radium is present
in pitchblende in very minute quantity, not more than one part in
five or ten millions of the mineral at most. Small as the quantity
was they succeeded in isolating the compounds of radium in the pure
state and ultimately accumulated enough, not only for a detailed
investigation of its extraordinary radioactivity, but also of its chemical
character, spectrum, and atomic weight. They found its atomic weight
to be 226, which is next to that of uranium 238, and thorium 234.
This and its chemical character put it into a position in the periodic
table in the family of the alkaline-earth elements, comprising calcium,
40, strontium, 85, and barium, 137. In its whole character it has the
closest resemblance to the latter element, and can only be separated
from it by prolonged and tedious fractionation processes. Chemically
it was normal in every respect, and its chemical character could have
been predicted from the periodic law before its discovery. But in ad-
dition to its chemical character it had a whole new set of surprising
radio-active properties in a very intense degree.
These discoveries naturally aroused the very greatest scientific
interest. The very existence of radium, a substance capable of
giving off spontaneously powerful new radiations which can be
transformed into light and heat, and, indeed, not only capable of
doing this, but, so far as we know, incapable of not doing it, ran
counter to every principle of physical science. For whence comes
the energy that is being given out in the process ? So soon as pure
radium compounds became available, the amount of this energy was
measured and it was found to be sufficient to heat a quantity of water
equal to the weight of the radium from the freezing-point to the
The Evolution of Matter 121
boiling-point every three-quarters of an hour. In the combustion of
fuel from which the world draws by far the greater part of the energy
it needs, the heat evolved is sufficient to raise a weight of water some
80 to 100 times the weight of fuel from the freezing-point to the
boiling-point. Hence radium, weight for weight, gives out as much
heat as the best fuel every three days, and in the fifteen years that
have elapsed, since it was first isolated, a quantity of energy nearly
two thousand times as much as is obtainable from fuel has been given
out by the radium, and the supply as yet shows no sign of exhaustion.
Before, however, these questions could be asked in this definite
quantitative form they had been answered, from a detailed investiga-
tion of the radioactivity of the element thorium. Professor, now Sir
Ernest, Rutherford, at McGill University, Montreal, and now at
Manchester University, was one of the leading and most active
physicists in the investigation of the new property, and, when the
writer joined him in Montreal in 1901, had made a large number of
very startling and fundamental discoveries and had developed the
refined methods of investigation and measurement which, more than
anything else, contributed to the rapid solution of the problem. The
apparently steady and continuous outpouring of the radiations from
thorium was found to be a most complex process, in which new
substances were being continually produced. These new substances
are endowed with a temporary or transient radioactivity, which in
the course of time decays away and disappears. Simple methods
of chemical analysis sufficed to remove from thorium altogether
infinitesimal quantities of substances, to which, however, by far the
greater part of the radioactivity was due. After removal the activity
of these substances steadily and continuously decayed. But the
thorium from which they had been removed and which was thereby
rendered nearly non-radioactive, gradually recovered its original
activity again. Investigation proved that the thorium was in fact
continually growing a fresh crop of these radioactive constituents.
As fast as it was purified from them by a chemical process, more
began to form. The quantities of material involved in these pro-
cesses are so minute that they are far beyond the limit of detection
by the balance or the spectroscope. Indeed, it is estimated that
geological epochs of time would have to elapse in the case of thorium
before a weighable quantity of the new materials was formed. Never-
theless the characteristic radioactivity they produce enables them to
122 Aberdeen University Review
be followed and dealt with as easily, or perhaps more easily, than
ordinary substances in weighable amount. Moreover, in certain
cases the radioactive products are gases — called the radioactive
emanations — and in these cases no chemical separation is needed,
as they diffuse away by themselves from the radioactive substance
into the surrounding air and are the cause of many striking
phenomena.
Now if a chemist were to purify a substance and put it away in
a sealed bottle and then found, on re-examining it at a later time, that
it was again impure, he would of course at first distrust the effective-
ness of his first purification. Let us suppose he purified lead from
every trace of silver, and coming back after some time re-examined
the purified lead and again found that silver was present in it. He
would again purify it and test it with even greater care. But if again
he found, after an interval, that it still contained silver, he would be
forced to the conclusion that the silver had grown in the lead, and
the doctrine of the unchangeableness of the elements would be at
an end.
This is exactly what Rutherford and the writer were forced to
conclude in the case of thorium, and ultimately of all the radioactive
elements. Their radioactivity is due in large measure to minute
quantities of impurities, of totally different chemical character from
themselves, that can be readily and completely removed by simple
purification processes. But, once removed, the substances so purified
do not remain pure. At a perfectly definite rate they regrow or pro-
duce the radioactive impurities and these can be again separated as
often as desired. Once separated, the radioactivity of the products
dies away or decays, and the apparently steady continuous emission
of rays from the parent substance is due to an equilibrium, in which
new radioactive products are formed as fast as the radioactivity of
those already produced disappears. Very rapidly a complete and
satisfactory theory of the whole phenomena was developed, and
fourteen years of further development of the science has not neces-
sitated any modification. The atoms of the radio-elements are not
permanently stable. After a term of existence which may be long
or short, according to the nature of the atom in question, and which
for the individual atoms of the same radio-element may have any
actual value, but is for the average of all the atoms of any one kind
a perfectly definite period, known as the period of average life, the
The Evolution of Matter 123
atom explodes. Fragments are expelled from it at hitherto unknown
velocities constituting the rays, of which more anon. What is left is
the new atom of a new element, totally different from the parent.
The radio-elements are in course of spontaneous transmutation into
other elements, and the process proceeds through a long succession
of more or less unstable intermediate elements, until the final stable
product is reached. In this process energy is evolved of the order of
a million times greater than the energy ever liberated in ordinary
chemical changes, in which the groups of atoms, or the molecules,
change, but not the constituent atoms themselves. The energy
evolved by an ounce of radium, in the course of its life, equals that
evolved from the burning of ten tons of coal. The period of average
life in this case is about 2500 years, which means that ^iwd^^ P^rt of
any quantity of radium changes per annum.
The rate at which the various radioactive products change varies
very widely. It may be slow or rapid, a matter of seconds or even
billionths of a second on the one hand, or of years or centuries or
aeons on the other. It was reasonable to interpret what Mme. Curie
had done for pitchblende in exactly the same way as had been done
for thorium, merely extending the time scale. The radium, polonium,
actinium and the other new intensely active radio-elements she dis-
covered in such infinitesimal amount in pitchblende were in all pro-
bability the products of the change of the parent element uranium.
The view carries with it the corollary that, if you separated uranium
from radium and everything else completely and left it to itself, in the
course of years or centuries a new crop of radium would be gradually
formed. The case of radium is specially interesting as it has been
established that it is an ordinary element resembling barium, with
definite spectrum, atomic weight, chemical properties, and position in
the Periodic Table. It was one of very many startling predictions of
a similar character made as soon as the new point of view was at-
tained. But it has been the last to receive confirmation and the
difficulties have been great. Were radium the first direct product,
the growth of radium in uranium, initially purified completely from
it, could be observed in the course of an hour, so excessively delicate
are the radioactive tests for this new element. Experiments were
started in 1903 in London, continued on a very much larger and
more thorough scale in Glasgow, with the aid of Mr. T. D. Mac-
kenzie. Yet in 1914 the expected confirmation was still not clearly
124 Aberdeen University Review
forthcoming. Long before that time it was known that radium was
not the direct product of uranium, and that another new radio-element^
ionium, intervened in the series. The uranium changes into radium,
via ionium, and this ionium is an exceedingly slowly changing
element in comparison even with radium, not more than about
TTmbirot^ part changing every year. This retards enormously the
initial rate of growth of radium and makes it proceed at first not
linearly with the lapse of time, but according to the square of the
lapse of time. That is, the growth after ten years would be loo
times, and after loo years 10,000 times, that in the initial year from
purification. The oft-tested preparations of uranium were transplanted
to Aberdeen in safety, and tests since carried out, in conjunction with
Miss Ada Hitchins, last year satisfactorily established a growth of
radium beyond all doubt in the largest preparation, and showed that
the rate was proceeding as nearly as can yet be seen according to the
square of the time. The growth of radium was not large. In three
years it amounted to T?TJ.THJU,nfe.TJ?TTT,uiT?Tth of the quantity of uranium
experimented upon, and in six years to just four times this quantity.
The experiments gave, moreover, indirectly a maximum estimate of
the rate of change of ionium as at most ttjuWu^^ P^^^ P^^ year. This
estimate has now been confirmed and made more definite by some
very fine direct work on ionium itself at the Radium Institute of
Vienna a few months ago, which gives the rate of change as x^g^boo^^
part per year. This is more than fifty times slower than the rate of
change of radium itself, which has long been established to be about
^g^QQth part per year. On the other hand the original uranium is
estimated with fair probability to be changing 50,000 times more
slowly than ionium, or not much more than xzj.uunimj.ZRTijt^
part changing per annum. In the course of 1,000,000,000 years —
a period beyond what even the geologists claim as the total age of
the earth — hardly more than 10 per cent, of a given quantity of
uranium would change — through ionium, radium, and so on — into
other elements. Yet, as has been mentioned, so delicate are our
methods, that had radium been the first direct product of the
change, an hour's observation on a kilogram of purified uranium
would have sufficed to have established the growth beyond all
doubt. As it is the problem took thirteen years. Uranium and
thorium are the only two primary radio-elements in the process of
change. All the other radio-elements known, and they number
The Evolution of Matter 125
thirty-three, are produced from one or other of them in the course
of their long sequence of changes.
But what of the rays themselves, the expulsion of which first drew
attention to the phenomenon, and which have furnished the necessary
experimental means for the study of the whole problem ? Like the
X-rays, they do not recognize the optical properties, transparency,
and opacity, nor, to a great extent, the chemical nature of the matter
in their path. They plough through everything, affected primarily
only by the density of the absorbing medium, or by the actual mass
of the material in their way. Physicists recognize three distinct types
of rays, — the a-, the yS- and the 7-rays, the first stopped completely by
a sheet of note-paper, but by far the most energetic and important of
all, the second capable of penetrating perhaps Jth of an inch of glass
or aluminium without being totally stopped, and the third reduced
to half their original intensity by about ^ inch of lead, though not
absolutely completely stopped even by 20 inches. The 7-rays are far
the most penetrating rays known and are really X-rays, but far more
penetrating than any that can be artificially produced. They are light
waves of wave-length thousands of times shorter than those of visible
light, and are probably a secondary phenomenon accompanying the
expulsion of the /3-rays. The yS-rays, or /3-particles, are electrons —
the atoms of negative electricity divorced from matter, recognized as
such by Sir J. J. Thomson in 1897, but previously well-known in the
phenomena of the Crookes* tube. They travel at a speed varying
from a third up to nearly the velocity of light itself, which is very
much greater than any that can be produced artificially. The a-rays,
or a-particles, are atoms of matter, carrying two atomic charges of
positive electricity — just twice the charge of positive electricity that
the y8-particles carry of negative electricity — and travelling with a
velocity varying from ^th to ^th that of light, about a hundred
times faster than matter had ever been known to travel previously.
Their mass is several thousand times as great as that of the /3-particle,
and in spite of their feeble penetrative power and, at first sight, less
showy qualities, over 90 per cent of the energy evolved in the change
of an atom is emitted in the form of these a-particles. Much of
Rutherford's finest work has been in connection with these a-particles.
The early measurements of the mass of the atom constituting the
a-particle left a choice as to its nature, whether it was an atom of
helium or of hydrogen, but strong indirect evidence of a very remark-
126 Aberdeen University Review
able character favoured helium. Thus helium, though it forms no
compounds, is found in minerals containing uranium and thorium,
only in the minerals containing uranium and thorium, and always in
them. Might not this helium be the a-particles fired off from the
uranium and thorium in the mineral, and, unable to escape from the
glassy minerals, accumulating in the material over long periods of
geological time, until its presence was obvious and striking even to
the relatively rough tests of chemistry and the spectroscope ? Natur-
ally, if one could only get enough radium the point might be tested
directly, for the spectroscopic test for helium is very sensitive, a
bubble of the gas, i^on^h of a cubic millimetre in volume, that
is, xrfeuth part of a large pin's head, being sufficient to give the
characteristic spectrum. This was in 1903, at the time when pure
radium compounds were being put on the market for the first time
by the enterprise of the German technical chemist. Dr. Giesel. The
first thing done with it in the late Sir William Ramsay's laboratory
in London was to see whether helium was being generated by it
continuously, as should be the case if the a-particles were really
positively charged atoms of helium. A few milligrams of radium
only was available, but it proved sufficient, and the growth of helium
from radium was established by the spectroscope by the aid of the
beautiful methods of manipulation of gases, devised by Sir William
in the course of his investigations on the rare gases of the atmosphere.
Later, the writer established the continuous production of helium from
uranium and thorium, though here, from a ton of either element in a
year, the quantity of helium produced is only ^n^h of a milligram
by weight — a quantity unweighable on the most sensitive chemical
balance — or 1 1 cubic millimetres by volume. Helium has also been
detected as a product of polonium, actinium, and other of the new
radio-elements.
Gradually the tangled and complex succession of changes being
undergone by uranium and thorium have been straightened out and
it is probable that the work is now complete. Some of the changes
require millions of years, some are over in a billionth of a second or
less. The atom of uranium expels 7 a- and 5 y8-particles, in twelve
successive changes, one particle per atom at each change. The atom
of thorium expels 6 a- and 3 /3-particles. The ^-particles are atoms
of electricity rather than of matter, and their expulsion affects the
mass of the parent atom to only a negligible extent. But the
The Evolution of Matter 127
a-particles are atoms of helium and the expulsion of each particle
must lower the atomic mass of the parent atom by 4 units.
So long as the process of disintegration of the atom is proceeding,
the rays emitted and the energy they possess afford the necessary
evidence for their experimental study. But when it is all over how
are we to proceed ? The final product into which uranium or thorium
turns, if it is the final product, by hypothesis emits no rays. The
quantity produced from any manageable quantity of uranium or
thorium in a lifetime is too small to detect chemically. How can
we find out even what it is ?
There is the method that already had indicated helium as the
element constituting the a-particle. In the natural radioactive
minerals one would expect to find the end products of the radio-
active changes in greater or less relative abundance, according as the
mineral is geologically ancient or modern. This evidence for long
indicated the element lead as the final product of the changes of
uranium. To-day we know that the radioactive minerals are in
reality geological clocks, and they record more accurately than in
any other way the age of the stratum in which they occur. In a
uranium mineral, for example, each i per cent of lead in terms of the
quantity of uranium signifies the lapse of a period of 80,000,000 years.
Errors of course are possible, if lead should have been an original
constituent of the mineral, but these are minimized by taking a large
number of different minerals. On the other hand every cubic centi-
metre by volume of helium per gram of uranium in a uranium mineral
signifies 9,000,000 years, and — as here helium, being a gas that forms
no compounds, cannot have been initially present and as, moreover,
some will have escaped — the age of the mineral by this method is a
minimum, whereas the age by the lead content may be too high.
The carboniferous rocks tested by this new method appear to have
an age of some 350,000,000 and the oldest Archean rocks of over
1,500,000,000 years.
The actual production of lead has not yet been proved directly in
the same way as the production of helium has, though, but for the
war, in all probability this would now have been accomplished. But
even without the actual direct proof of this kind there is practically
no room for doubt on the point. Indeed by a very important develop-
ment, about which a few words may be said in conclusion, we know
that not only uranium but also thorium both produce the element
128 Aberdeen University Review
lead as the final product, and though the lead from uranium is
absolutely identical chemically and spectroscopically with the lead
from uranium, yet they are different. Stranger still, the lead which
chemists are familiar with as one of the elements is a mixture of both
kinds.
We have seen that the expulsion of an a-particle ought to lower
the atomic weight of the element expelling it by 4 units, 4 being the
atomic weight of helium. In its transformation into radium, uranium
expels 3 a-particles. The atomic weight of uranium is 238, and that
found by Mme. Curie for radium is 226. So far so good. Radium
in its further changes expels 5 a-particles, and the atomic weight of
the end product should be therefore 206. The atomic weight of
thorium is 232, and, as it expels 6 a-particles in all, that of the end
product of thorium should be 208. The atomic weight of ordinary
lead is 207*2. The atomic weight of bismuth is 208, but the writer
was unable to find in a special examination of over 20 kilograms of a
certain thorium mineral even a trace of bismuth, though there was
o*3 per cent of lead. This definitely rules bismuth out.
In the early months of 191 3 a fundamental step forward was taken
into our knowledge of the nature of matter which started from the
discovery of the simple complete law of elementary evolution as we
have come to know it in radioactive change, which is largely due to
two of the writer's old students, A. S. Russell and A. Fleck. The
expulsion of the a-particle, or the /8-particle, from an atom leaves a
new atom with properties different from the parent, but different in
a very definite and striking way. If the particle expelled is the
a-particle, the element after this expulsion invariably changes its
whole chemical character and passes from the place it occupies in the
Periodic Table to a new place, next but one to it in the direction of
diminishing atomic weight. If the expelled particle is a ^-particle
the change of place is invariably into the next place in the opposite
direction. After three changes in any order, one a- and two ^8-, — a
very common sequence in the series, — the element returns to the place
it first occupied. Its atomic weight is less than it was by 4 units, but
in its whole chemical nature and even in its spectrum, it is not merely
like its original parent. It is chemically identical with it. Elements
which so occupy the same place in the Periodic Table and are ab-
solutely identical in all their chemical properties are called isotopes.
The recognition of such isotopes is fundamentally new, and cuts more
The Evolution of Matter 129
deeply into old-established ideas of the nature of matter than even
the surprising discoveries of the genesis of one element out of an-
other.
The present theory of atomic structure is due to Rutherford and
is based on experiments on the course followed by an a-particle when
it ploughs its way through the atoms of matter. These experiments
have shown that the atom consists of a central nucleus, possessing all
but a negligible part of the atomic mass but occupying only an ex-
ceedingly minute fraction of the atomic volume. The nucleus con-
tains a preponderance of positive charges and is surrounded by an
equivalent number of separate negative electrons, revolving in a system
around it. This theory lent itself at once to the interpretation of the
new developments here referred to, and both together, along with
very important work by the late H. G. J. Moseley on the wave-
lengths of the X-ray spectra of the elements, have furnished the key to
the deciphering of the Periodic Law. It is melancholy to record that
Moseley fell at Suvla Bay, aged only twenty-eight.
Prior knowledge of the atoms of matter has been superficial in the
literal sense — confined entirely to the outermost shell of the atom.
We have now penetrated to the interior and find, first, an inner shell,
wherein X-rays take their origin, and, secondly, still further to the
nucleus, the sanctum sanctorum of the atom, revealed only by radio-
activity and alone concerned in this phenomenon. The same outer
and inner shells — that is, the same kind of atom to the older know-
ledge— may contain demonstrably different nuclei. Matter is of
indefinitely more kinds than the chemist and his Periodic Law have
disclosed.
The places in the Periodic Table represent integral nett charges
of electricity in the constitution of the nucleus. The expulsion of the
a-particle with its double charge of positive electricity shifts the ele-
ment in the Periodic Table by two places in one direction and the
expulsion of the yS-particle, with its single charge of negative elec-
tricity, shifts it one place in the other direction. Nature does not
deal in fractions of an atom of electricity any more than with fractions
of an atom of matter. As we pass from hydrogen, at the beginning,
to uranium, at the end, of the elements, we pass 94 places in the
Periodic Table, each element differing from the one preceding it by
a unit charge or ''atom " of positive electricity in its nucleus. Hydro-
gen has one such and uranium 94 such unit positive charges. The
9
130 Aberdeen University Review
number expressing the element's place in the Periodic Table is called
the atomic number. It is the nett number of charges, the differ-
ence between the separate positive and negative charges. Before the
discovery of the radio-elements the following represented the last 14
places of the Periodic Table : —
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
(4
"9
0
P»
0
^
M
t^
0
^
t^
00
N
00
ON
0
0
0
0
fO
fO
•
N
b
3
N
3
6
3
6
s
1
1
s
1
c
Fig. I.
The figures in the upper line are the atomic numbers, the figures after
each element the atomic weights, both in terms of that of hydrogen as unity.
Radium, when discovered, fell naturally into the vacant place No. 88, and
polonium and actinium are now known to occupy Nos. 84 and 89. The three
radioactive emanations of Rutherford, products of radium, actinium, and
thorium respectively, are chemically analogous to Ramsay's inert family of
atmospheric gases, and occupy the place No. 86. No. 91 is known to be
occupied by a product of uranium, having a period of average life of only if
minutes, called Brevium. The numbers 85 and 87 in the above figure now
alone remain vacant.
Thus radioactivity has peopled all but two of these vacant places, but
it has done more. It has crowded into ten of the above places, be-
tween Nos. 81 and 92, no less than 39 distinct elements, and all of
the elements occupying any one place — isotopes as they are called — '■
are invariably identical in their whole chemical character. Ionium is
isotopic with thorium, mesothorium I. with radium and so on. To
the chemist and the spectroscopist they would be taken as one. Not
so, however, to the newer methods of radioactivity.
When the whole sequences of changes of uranium and thorium
are set forth in the Periodic Table according to the a- and /9-change
rules mentioned, it is found that all the final products occupy the
place, No. 82, occupied by lead. The atomic weight of the end
product of uranium should be 206 and that for thorium 208, whereas
The Evolution of Matter 131
the atomic weight of common lead is 207 '2. This suggests that
common lead is a mixture of isotopes rather than a single homo-
geneous element. The view rapidly received complete vindication.
For the atomic weight of lead derived from minerals rich in thorium
has been found to be higher than that of common lead, whereas the
atomic weight of lead derived from minerals rich in uranium is lower.
The values in fact vary from 206*0 to 2077.
The densities of the varieties of the lead, the writer recently found,
differ in exactly the same way as the atomic weights, showing that
the volume of the atom is the same though the weights are different,
as was to be expected from general theoretical considerations. The
difference is only small. *' Thorium " lead is about J per cent heavier
than common lead. Prof. Richards, of Harvard, has since found
" uranium " lead to be ^ per cent lighter than common lead. But
if such a difference occurred with gold, a bank teller would be liable
to be out by one sovereign, or two, in every 400, if he weighed the
coins instead of counting them.
Gold was the goal of alchemy, and it is interesting to ask whether
the new discoveries have thrown any light on the alchemical problem
of how to make gold from lead or mercury. The answer may be
given at once. Gold is followed in the Periodic Table by mercury,
thallium, lead, and bismuth, occupying successive places without gaps
(see Fig. i). To get gold from mercury, expel from the atom of
mercury one yS-particle which will make thallium, then one a-particle
which will turn the thallium into gold. Or, to get gold from lead,
expel from the atom of lead one a-particle which will turn it into
mercury and proceed as before.
It is interesting to note that, in the case of both the thorium and
uranium disintegration series, at a certain stage, the expulsion of an
a-particle instead of a /3-particle would have resulted in gold being
produced, for in each case the place occupied by thallium is entered
in the course of the changes.
Unfortunately it is not yet possible to supplement these simple
recipes for the artificial production of gold with the necessary instruc-
tions as to how an atom is to be caused to expel an a- or a ^-particle
at will, unless Nature has decreed that it should do so of itself, in
which case nothing known will prevent it. But, if man ever achieves
this further control over Nature, it is quite certain that the last thing
he would want to do would be to turn lead or mercury into gold —
132 Aberdeen University Review
for the sake of gold. The energy that would be liberated, if the con-
trol of these sub-atomic processes were as possible as is the control of
ordinary chemical changes, such as combustion, would far exceed in
importance and value the gold. Rather it would pay to transmute
gold into silver or some base metal.
War, unless in the meantime man had found a better use for the
gifts of science, would not be the lingering agony it is to-day. Any
selected section of the world, or the whole of it if necessary, could be
depopulated with a swiftness and dispatch that would leave nothing
to be desired.
Indeed in the whole tragic history of the past few years nothing
has been perhaps more illuminating than the attitude of the world
and its rulers to science. The intellectual aspect of the discoveries
here briefly enumerated, — the discovery of radioactivity, the realiza-
tion that it was due to a natural transmutation of the elements, the
laborious tracing out, step by step, of the complicated sequence of
changes, the discovery of the law connecting these changes with the
Periodic Table, the first real understanding as to what constitutes the
difference between one element and another, the vista that opens out
should man ever exercise over these higher order of natural energy
the control he has so effectively assumed over the lower — interesting
perhaps, but what is the use of it all? There is a rumour, puffed
judiciously in the press, that radium is a cure for cancer and immedi-
ately there is a change. Stock exchanges get up radium, wild-cat
mining schemes are floated, the public are invited to get rich quickly,
and every quack and charlatan, with his radium ointment, radium pills,
and radium waters, refurbishes his familiar propaganda. The charit-
able and benevolent, to whom the cry of suffering and the dying ever
make its irresistible appeal, raise the funds to buy the radium. The
genuine scientific investigator can no longer afford to, and goes with-
out.
Again the scene changes and the country is spending nearly ;^ioo
every second on the war. Radium, like every other gift of science, is
pressed into the service of the war, as it is convenient for illuminating
the dials of watches and scientific instruments at night, and the State,
which before as regards anything productive or creative did not exist,
must now afford anything for the purpose of destruction. Men,
materials, and capital must be conscripted and organized to the last
point for the purposes of occasional international strife.
/
The Evolution of Matter 133
But there is a struggle which is world-wide and never-ending, the
struggle against external nature for control and mastery. The millions
take no part in it, are hardly aware that it goes on, and would be
surprised if they were told that their future fate and prosperity de-
pended upon it rather more intimately than upon the issue of the
doughty conflicts of the parliamentarians some of them send up to
Westminster.^ Neither, again, would the mere alteration in the
character of their education, making it scientific rather than classical,
alone bring them salvation. For this struggle is by duel rather than
by armies, and the issue of the duel the millions accept as blindly and
dumbly as a decree of Providence. Enormous tracts of the British
Empire are uninhabitable by white men by reason of malaria and
yellow fever. It is the will of Allah. A solitary duellist against the
unknown and not understood confronted Nature. A single intel-
ligence in the teeth of official apathy and neglect sought the "million
murdering cause," and found it. In India alone more than a million
people died yearly from malaria before its cause and remedy were
ascertained. The Panama Canal owes its successful construction to
the work of this solitary individual in Bangalore, diligently followed
up by others. Praise be to Allah !
The future of the British Empire is at the moment in the hands of
five million stalwart men, with an organized nation of workers and
vast accumulations of wealth and resources and every possible scientific
discovery and invention behind to back them up. If the nation thinks,
when peace returns, that the struggle against Nature, which after all
is of more abiding and permanent interest to its destiny, large as the
present contest looms to-day, can be best carried on in the old way
by a handful of isolated individuals as a sort of hobby in their spare
time out of their own means and in the intervals of more urgent
professional duties, the nation is mad.
1 One of these indispensable recipients of £^oo a year has just distinguished himself by
referring in the House to the Board of Invention and Research — instituted by the Admiralty
since the war — as "A chemist's shop in Cockspur Street" {Aberdeen Free Press, i6
February, 1917).
FREDERICK SODDY.
The Sword of God.
( Wtt/t apologies to Sir Rabindranath Tagore.)
I was coming back from the city, tired and thinking of rest,
''Dinner," thought 1, " and a smoke, and I'll sleep without a care " ;
(For I owed no man a farthing, and beyond that I never guessed) —
The Sword of God lay there !
Right in the dusty roadway where I could not choose but see,
And I knew I must lift it and wield it until I lay under the sod.
I could not doubt the summons — It was plainly meant for me —
There lay the Sword of God !
There is no more sleeping for me, I shall walk in peril and pain.
And many shall tread my pathway, and many shall tremble and weep,
For to-night is the sword uplifted, and shall not be laid down again —
The Sword of God cannot sleep !
And home and bed and sleeping are nothing but cowardly shame,
For He nerves the heart for battle. He braces the arm to strife.
He giveth eyes to the blind, and wings to the feet of the lame —
The Sword of God is Life !
F. D. SIMPSON, M.A. (1890).
February, 1916.
</
X-s^
THE RIGHT REVEREND ANTHONY MITCHELL, M.A„ D.D.,
Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.
Bishop Mitchell :
MEMORIES AND AN APPRECIATION.
iT seems only yesterday (though it is actually five-
and-twenty years ago) that we were journeying
from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, four of us, cheerful
and even boisterous young spirits, bound for the
Theological College of the Scottish Episcopal
Church, and the cheeriest among us Anthony
Mitchell, first to descry and hail comrades who
were joining us at Dundee, and readiest out of his years' experience,
for the benefit of us juniors, to hit off in a witty phrase the weaknesses
and foibles of the College staff! It was small wonder that we looked
up to him as a leader, for at the University he had not only taken a
brilliant degree, but had also made a name for himself in the social
life of the 'Varsity, as a keen cricketer, a frequent contributor to
** Alma Mater," a witty speaker, and a keen debater. I had seen but
little of him at King's, for in those days the lines that separated bajan
from semi, and tertian from magistrand, were pretty rigid. But
AT THE THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
I lived under the same roof with him, seeing him daily, and learning
more and more to appreciate and admire his many-sided personality.
It was here that he added to his intellectual equipment the beginnings
of that spiritual experience, which was to be in later years one of his
most impressive qualities. The College was then, owing to the ill-
health of some members of its staff, not all that it might have been ;
but Mitchell set a fine example in keeping ideals of personal devotion
and discipline at a high level. It goes almost without saying that he
swept the board in the examinations of his year, and I can still re-
member his wonderful power of quickly getting at the heart of a sub-
ject, and of selecting the important facts and details necessary for the
treatment of a topic.
136 Aberdeen University Review
EARLY MINISTRY.
When he left the Theological College in 1 892 it was only to serve
as Deacon a mission church in the west-end of Edinburgh, and one of
the happiest memories of my second year as a theological student is
the Sunday evening walks to his little church where I read the Scrip-
ture lessons for him and heard sermons such as few men of his age
could preach. He had not been at Murrayfield more than a year be-
fore he found fresh scope for his youthful energy in founding a mission
at Corstorphine, and his opening sermon on that occasion remains
fresh in my memory to this day.
PREACHER.
The preacher was only then in the making, but there was scarcely
a quality in his more mature sermons that was not to be found in the
preaching of his early priesthood. He had the boldness, rare in
young preachers, to eschew all straining after effect and to strive
for simplicity and directness, and this characteristic distinguished his
preaching to the last.
" Will this sermon do ? " asked a student on one occasion of his
Principal as he handed over a discourse for inspection. "Do?" said
the Principal, as he ran his eyes over the pages, " Do ? Do what ? "
There was never any doubt as to what the Bishop's sermons were in-
tended to do; their power lay in the directness and clearness of their
aim. He could preach apologetic sermons with the best ; but he felt
that mere apologetic never carried far, and his sermons as a rule were
marked by a simplicity of rare beauty and impressiveness, the sim-
plicity of a great man.
The manner of the preacher matched the matter ; calm and de-
liberate, he was always master of himself because mastered by his
subject, and he could pass from the high altitude of the orator with
easy naturalness to the logical precision of the advocate as well as to
the homeliness of the pastor opening his heart to his people.
HISTORIAN.
Love of truth no less than loyalty to his church turned Bishop
Mitchell's mind, from the early days of his ministry, to the study of
Scottish Church History. He was a favourite pupil of the late Dr.
Dowden, Bishop of Edinburgh, and while still in the twenties wrote
for his " Celtic Church in Scotland " a fine translation in verse of the
Bishop Mitchell 137
Altus of St. Columba. But it was not till he became Principal of the
Theological College in 1905 that he adopted Scottish Church History
as the special field of his study. He enjoyed to the full the his-
torian's joy in discovering new facts or in throwing fresh light on old
historical problems ; and both in his ** Short History of the Church in
Scotland " (1907) and in his "Biographical Studies in Scottish Church
History" (191 5) he wrote from a first-hand knowledge of the original
authorities which he studied not with the microscope of the dry-as-dust
historian but with the imagination of the lover of romance and the
student of character. Had he been granted ten years more of health
and strength, he might have achieved the highest distinction in this
field, for he possessed all the qualities of the historian : scholarship
and sound judgment, insight into the intricacies of the tangle of Scot-
tish politics and religion, and a literary style which could render even
the perplexing alternations of ecclesiastical events interesting reading.
PRINCIPAL.
His best practical work was, I think, done at the Theological
College of which he was Principal for seven years. His health during
that period was robust, and he was able to throw himself with his
whole heart into all the varied work of a residential College which
aimed no less at the spiritual than at the intellectual training of the
future clergy. Under his direction the financial position of the College
was placed on a secure basis, the number of students steadily in-
creased, the intellectual standard was raised, and the devotional spirit
and discipline of the institution were strengthened. I had been abroad
during his first two years at the College, but on my return to Scotland
I saw him frequently. No one was more at home with young men
than he. Full of sympathy with the dreams of youth, he was eager
to encourage the worker ; but woe betide the man who exhibited
signs of slackness or idleness or pretentiousness ! After a few words
with the Principal that man would see himself as he had never done
before. As a lecturer, the Bishop had few equals. There lie before
me, as I write, the notes of many of his lectures on Christian doctrine,
all of them models of orderly arrangement and of clearness and com-
pression.
BISHOP OF ABERDEEN AND ORKNEY.
Immediately after his Consecration five years ago in the Church
of St, Andrew's, Aberdeen (of which I was then Rector), the Bishop,
138 Aberdeen University Review
with a kindness that would take no refusal, carried me off to Braemar, a
place that had an extraordinary charm for him. There we had some
great talks which disclosed to me still more the generosity of his heart
and the largeness of his outlook. 1 had been appointed his successor
at the College, and his one thought was to render my transition from
bustling parish work to the Principalship of a Theological College as
easy as possible, and that too when his own new and far heavier re-
sponsibilities as Bishop must have filled his mind with anxious cares.
He never seemed to think of himself; and it was, I believe, this utter
selflessness no less than his great gifts of mind and spirit, that won the
hearts of his clergy and made his visits to their churches so inspiring.
Certainly, this was the secret of that sympathy which enabled clergy
and laity alike to look to him with the loyalty not only of the faithful
to a bishop but also of friends to a friend.
This is not the place to attempt a judicial survey of his all too
short episcopate or to estimate the high service he rendered to the
Scottish Church as a member of the College of Bishops ; but this
retrospect would be seriously incomplete without an allusion to the
value of Bishop Mitchell's scholarship and practical wisdom in the
counsels of the Church as a whole. He was too big a man to like
speaking for its own sake ; he would sit patiently at meetings, listen-
ing as often as not to a good deal of nonsense, and then after a time
with a few words despatch the question at issue, showing the one
possible course of action, and leaving people astonished that they had
not seen it before ! It would be tempting to lift the veil that hangs
over the stated conferences of our seven Scottish Bishops ; if that were
possible, the Diocese of Aberdeen which he served and the University
which did so much to make him what he was would be astonished at
the influence and the power he wielded at deliberations whose issue
depended so much on wide knowledge, calm judgment and shrewd
insight.
APPRECIATION.
As 1 look back on the five-and-twenty years of friendship with
Bishop Mitchell, I have no hesitation in naming the dominant im pres-
sion of his personality that is stamped on my mind It is growth.
Some men develop early, some quickly ; but few grow noticeably all
their life through. The Bishop's development was never checked
or arrested ; he was always growing ; in early years, notably in in-
Bishop Mitchell 139
tellectual power ; in later days, in the acquisition of fresh qualities of
sympathy, judgment, resource, and unselfishness. Not that one could
divide his life into two parts, one distinguished by intellectual, the
other by spiritual development. His whole personality grew in wealth
all his life, and at the last no one could say whether he had developed
more rapidly on the spiritual or on the intellectual side. If that be
a true judgment of the Bishop, then it is impossible to say how great
a man he might have become, had he been allotted the three-score
years and ten, but easy to conceive something of the greatness of
the loss we have suffered by his death, at the age of forty-eight. We
have had no Bishop so versatile as he, and the University has had
few sons gifted with so many and so varied endowments. Scholar and
historian, lecturer and preacher, poet and writer, organizer and leader
— he was all these, and yet more — a man, so human that humour was
as real a part of his character as was the spiritual devotion which en-
abled him to endure months of suffering without a murmur and toil
unweariedly to the last for the good of his people.
W. PERRY.
For a War Memorial Service.
KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL, ABERDEEN.
We who still worship in the house where they
Came with glad footsteps while they shared our day
Think of them now in solemn requiem,
Comrades of ours ere glory came their way.
Eager they mustered when the first call came,
Marched over the hill to graves without a name ;
Gloriously dead, we yet remember them
Comrades of ours ere death had brought them fame.
Though now they shine with that immortal train
Of warrior-saints, by sword and torture slain.
Who fought that freedom's lamp might never dim,
Within these walls, comrades of ours again,
Their spirits come to join this offering
Of prayer for the peace they gave their youth to bring.
G. ROWNTREE HARVEY.
Other University Periodicals.
I HE Harvard Graduates' Magazine," published by the
Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association (Boston,
Mass.), does for the great American University what
the Review is endeavouring to do for the University
of Aberdeen, only our Harvard contemporary has been
at the work much longer — since 1892 in fact — and
carries it out on a far more elaborate scale. Its pro-
fessed function is to maintain "a complete record of
the University," in the index of which mention can be found of " any man
who has affected the life of the University, and every event of conse-
quence " ; and we note with pleasure that, aiming at a similar purpose, we
have, qu^te unconsciously, adopted several of the methods employed. The
"Harvard Graduates' Magazine," for example — judging from the number
before us (No. 96, June, 191 6) — contains articles of general interest by
eminent Harvard men ; it chronicles the literary productions of graduates,
furnishing critical reviews of the more important works ; and it follows closely
the careers of the alumni, recording their marriages even as well as their deaths.
" Harvardiana " are duly noted — one of the most interesting items in the
number is an article on various medals connected with the University ; and
considerable attention is evidently paid to the records of the Corporation
and Overseers. The most marked differences between the Review and its
Harvard prototype are the representation in the latter of undergraduate life
and interests, the large space allotted to College sports, and the collection
of news from more than sixty College Classes, eighty Harvard Clubs, and
the associations of all the professional schools. (It is curious to note in
these Personalia, by the way, that numbers of Harvard men are fighting
with the Allies, generally finding their way to the front by enlisting in the
Canadian forces.) In the matter of "News from the Classes" we cannot
possibly compare with the Harvard magazine, for the American College Class
is a thing by itself; and some other features of the magazine make us — shall
we venture to say ? — slightly envious. The magazine is published quarterly,
the June number consists of 156 pages of closely printed small type, and the
price of the four numbers is three dollars (12s. 6d.). Verb. sap.
The "Columbia University Quarterly " for December, 19 16 (Vol. XIX,
No. i), contains no personalia except an article on the University's formei
President, "Seth Low, Leader of Men," nor any record of the work of the
University beyond an article on "The School of Practical Arts," a summary
of Professor Seligman's address "at the opening of the fall term" on "The
Real University " and of Professor Longcope's historical review of the teaching
of Medicine, an account of "The Intercollegiate Bureau of Occupations " and
passages from the annual reports of the President of the University and of the
142 Aberdeen University Review
Dean of Columbia College. The President's Report reveals among other
things the scale on which the larger American Universities plan their growth.
The estimated deficit on the current year for "work now established and
in progress " is 92,662 dollars, and the "sum of thirty million dollars must still
be added to the resources of Columbia University if it is, within a reasonable
time, to accomplish satisfactorily the tasks that are laid upon it ". This includes
twelve millions for co-operatmg with the Presbyterian Hospital (one of the
largest in New York) in developing graduate instruction and research in
medicine and surgery " on a scale at least equal to that found anywhere else in
the world " ; " six millions for the Faculty of Applied Science for industrial and
engineering research and the articulation of the work of research laboratories
with the needs and interests of the nation's industries," for " the future of
American industry is bound up with the future of American science " ; one
million for investigation of questions in the history of Law ; and two for increas-
ing the equipment and material for research in the general fields of political
science, philosophy, and pure science. Professor Seligman claims that while
the State stands to supplement and control the individual, and the Church to
moralise him, the true function of the University is his emancipation — " not to
diffuse knowledge nor give professional training, not even to promote science
but to promote and impart intellectual freedom " — as if it were possible to
separate these functions I The need of loyal co-operation with each other in a
common freedom for common ideals is enforced on all the faculties, to the
dissipation of " the traditional opposition between the old faculties and the
new disciplines". There is an interesting article on "The Education of
Engineers " in the United States. The writer points out that while schools
of law and medicine were "first established by practitioners as an outgrowth
of the apprenticeship system and were usually well developed as professional
schools before they became affiliated with the colleges," the engineering
schools were established by "college professors who sought to satisfy in-
dustrial needs by the methods to which they were accustomed in the colleges ".
A curious inquiry was made of over 6700 members of the National En-
gineering Societies as to the relative importance attached by them to general
and technical qualities respectively in judging the reasons for engineering
success or in measuring young men for employment or promotion. The im-
portance assigned by these expert engineers to Character, Judgment, Effi-
ciency and Understanding of Men, compared with that assigned by them to
Knowledge of Scientific Fundamentals and the Technique of Practice and of
Business, was as 82 to 13 ! John L. Gerig contributes "Celtic Studies in the
United States," the remarkable growth of which during the last ten years he
attributes not to neo- Celtic enthusiasts with national aims, but to the recogni-
tion of " the great value of Celtic from the philological, literary, or historical
point of view ". The first scientific instruction in Celtic was given at Harvard
by Professor F. N. Robinson in 1896, since when he has taught it uninter-
ruptedly ; offering Old Irish every year, Middle Irish and Welsh alternately,
and occasionally Modern Irish and Gaelic, with a maximum of eight and an
average of three to four students. There is at Harvard a travelling fellow-
ship in Celtic and Comparative Literature. In the University of Chicago there
are two courses in Celtic (Professor T. P. Cross) with an average of six and
two students respectively; in the University of Illinois courses on Celtic
Literature and Civilisation and on Old Irish (Miss Schoepperle) ; in Washington
Other University Periodicals 143
University on Modern Scottish Gaelic and Irish (Professor E. G. Cox) ; and
Celtic is also taught in the University of California and at Dalhousie Uni-
versity, Halifax. Since 1906 "courses in Celtic Literature, Old and Middle
Irish, Welsh, Breton, and Comparative Celtic Grammar have been elected
with more or less regularity by graduate students " ; and " as in Harvard,
Celtic has made its strongest appeal to students of mediaeval literature and
comparative philology ". Columbia and the Catholic University of Washing-
ton (courses in Irish, Welsh, Breton and GaeHc, and the Celtic material in
Old French literature) are the only American Universities as yet which have
founded Chairs in Celtic. Mr. Gerig adds some accounts of Celtic Collec-
tions in Libraries of the United States, Gaelic Societies, and contributions of
American scholars to the subject.
"The University Magazine" of Montreal is also a quarterly; **to express
an educated opinion upon questions immediately concerning Canada ; and
to treat freely in a literary way all matters which have to do with politics,
industry, philosophy, science and art". The Principal of McGill and the
Professors of English in Toronto and Dalhousie form the editorial committee ;
and during the absence at the front of the editor, Dr. Andrew MacPhail,
Montreal, Principal Peterson and Professors Colby and Lafleur undertake
the editing. In the December number (Vol. XV, No. 4) Topics of the Day
include paragraphs on "The Length of the War," "Pacificism," "The Do-
minions Royal Commission " (on industry and commerce, etc.), " An Im-
perial Consular Service," etc., etc. There is a description of Pozi6res, 16-17
September, by "One Who Was There," as vivid a battle-piece as we have
read from this war. Our own Professor John Adams has a refreshing article
on " The Joy of Irresponsible Atomism " in Psychology. There is a long
review of "Indian Idealism," by R. A. King. "The Rally of the Latin
Nations," by A. F. Bruce Clark, in tracing the renascence of the common
conscience and genius of the Latin peoples both before and during the war,
gives an interesting account of a conference at Paris in February, 1915, of
distinguished representatives from them all, including those of Latin America,
and among other extracts from the speeches made quotes these words by
Giuglielmo Ferrero on the Battle of the Marne : —
Probably during those days one lived through one of the great moments of history,
for it was the first moment in which our generation, astonished, asked itself whether after
all it was not possible that mass and number might not be everything in the world. . . .
This war must be the revanche of true intellectual and moral greatness over the arrogance
of " the colossal," which had hardened and blinded men's minds ; it must restore to the
world appreciation for those things, in all domains of activity, which are great only by the
smallness of their proportions and by the modesty of a greatness that comes wholly from
within ; it must prepare a new generation capable of doing great things with simplicity
and without arrogance and -a world which has recovered its moral balance by re-
discovering the meaning of true greatness. He closes by asking whether the other
Latin nations can leave France '• alone to the very end at the terrible and glorious task
from which the genius of our race is destined to emerge rejuvenated ".
Ferrero's dictum is that "on the whole Latin civilisation has stood for
quality as distinguished from quantity, true greatness as distinguished from
'the colossal'". J. M. Gibbon (alumnus of Aberdeen, 1891-93) suggests
an interesting connection between "Shakespeare and the Pilgrim Fathers,"
through the Earl of Southampton, the poet's patron and pupil, and a member
of that " Patriot " Party by which the patent was granted for the voyage of the
"Mayflower" in 1621 ; while D. Fraser Harris discourses on "Shakespeare
144 Aberdeen University Review
and Biological Science ". Other subjects are " Literary Atmosphere " (of
somewhat forced humour on "How to Read"), "Kustarny," a national
industry of Russia, "Earthquake and War," and "Woman Suffrage To-
day ". There are three poems, but no personalia nor record of the work of
the Universities connected with the Magazine.
The "Varsity Magazine Supplement, Toronto, 1916," is a handsome folio
of 134 pages {plus an enviable fifty-two more of advertisements). Lavishly
illustrated it forms "a record of University war activities," which redound to
the honour of the University of Toronto. Approximately there are 3250
of her graduates (including ninety -seven members of the faculty) and students
on active service, of whom about 1080 are in the ranks and 1936 are com-
missioned officers. Over 130 have fallen. It is interesting to compare these
numbers with the corresponding numbers of Aberdeen ; at the present date
there are about 2200 graduates, alumni, and students on naval and military
service (including some thirty- six Red Cross and Civil Surgeons) and the
numbtr of the fallen is 130. The Toronto supplement gives portraits of
119 of the fallen and of no fewer than 2200 of those on active service,
a fuller collection we imagine than that achieved by any other University.
The other portraits are those of the Allied Sovereigns and principal statesmen
and commanders by sea and land, the Premier of Canada, the President of
Toronto University and some of the heads of the University War Hospitals,
etc. The personal articles include the Premier of Canada and the President
of the University, Lord Kitchener and J. Pierpont Morgan. The story is
told of the " University of Toronto, No. 4 Base Hospital " in Canada, in Eng-
land, and on the Mediterranean and at Salonika. Extracts are given from
letters from Mesopotamia and elsewhere. Sir Gilbert Murray writes on
" Oxford in War Time," Mary Roberts Rinehart on the work of the Red
Cross at the front, and Stanley Naylor on " The Serbian People in War Time,"
J. G. Fitzgerald on " The War Work of the Antitoxin Laboratory," and Sir
Edmund Walker on " What the War Means to Canada ". There are articles
on " The Divine Irony," " Is America Generous ? " " The Social-Democratic
Party in Germany," " What is Back of the German Mind " (by Prof.
Macallum, F.R.S., who traces the brutality that the German miHtary au-
thorities have countenanced and even encouraged to the abnormal history of
Germany since 1618 and "the enormous influence" of the memory of the
ruthless wars which have devastated Germany since then), " Learning to Fly "
(the observations of a military aviator) and " Britain a Great Amphibian," by
the Right Hon. Winston Churchhill. There are several stirring pieces of
verse. This partial catalogue of the contents serves to show the large scale
and high standard of this War Supplement to the Magazine of our sister
University. Almost all the articles are vividly illustrated. We congratulate
Toronto on its contribution to the forces of the Empire, in the great Cause
which has called them forth, on this sumptuous record of its military and
medical services in this war, and on the wide outlook, varied interest, and
high conscience of the record.
"Otago University Review," Dunedin, New Zealand, has reached its
thirtieth volume — a reproach to the Universities of Scotland. No. 2 of that
volume (October, 191 6) is a small quarto of 67 pages including 6 of adver-
tisements. There are articles on "Orators and Oratory," "Research in
Agricultural Science," " Professor Marshall, M.A., D.Sc." (who is leaving the
Other University Periodicals 145
chair of Geology for the Headmastership of Wanganui College), " Cambridge "
and university life there, "The Otago University O.T.C. — Medical Unit,"
and a reprint of Viscount Grey of Falloden's impressive declaration on the
aims of the Allies, which he made through an interviewer for publication in
America. Editorial Paragraphs, Obiter Dicta, four sets of verses, the reception
of Graduates, the University Roll of Honour and War Roll, " Notes on the
'Varsity in Egypt," a single "Review," and some notes on the Faculties,
Residential Colleges, and University Societies complete a full and interesting
number. Thirty-one members of the University have fallen in the War.
"Sydney University Medical Journal," October, 1916 (New Series, Vol.
XI, Pt. 2), is a number of 88 pages, of contents grave and gay, in prose and
verse, with cartoons of popular lectures, portraits of graduates fallen in the
war with their obituaries, and humorous sketches. Some of the articles deal
with the Medical Time Table, the Medical Student and National Service, and
local questions. The purely professional are on "Gastric and Duodenal
Ulcers from a Surgical Point of View" (C. E. Corlette, M.D., Ch.M.), "On
the Neurones of the Sensory Ganglia" (Prof. J. T. Wilson), "Immunisation
Against Epidemic Meningitis" (Prof. D. A. Welsh), and "The Application
of Embryology to Surgery, illustrated " (J. L. McKelvey, M.B., Ch.M.), and
an illustrated Letter from Dr. H. M. Moran on "A Doctor Sahib in
Mesopotamia," and elsewhere with the A.A.M.C. The personalia are few.
In all the School has lost ten graduates in this war.
As we go to press " The Alumni Register," University of Pennsylvania
(Vol. XIX, No. I, October, 1916), has just reached us, with accounts and
photographs of the last annual reunion of Alumni of the years in which the
number "6" occurs, back to 1856.
We have also received some numbers of " The Magazine of The Scottish
Churches College " of Calcutta. That of September reports an address de-
livered by the Rev. Principal Watt (M.A., D.D., Aberd.) on "Two Years of
•War," which emphasizes the justice of our cause, illustrated from (among
other points) the German disregard of treaties, the unprovoked attack on
Belgium, and the atrocities committed by our enemies there and elsewhere.
The bulk of the contents of this periodical consists of short articles on literary
or scientific subjects, reports of college societies, and brief reviews, all in
English ; as well as a few pages both of verse and prose in Bengalee.
The January number contains an impressive address by N. K. Bose on
" The Religious Responsibilities of Indian Christian Students " and " A
Night's Outing" by Praphulla Chandra Sen, B.A., late Lance-Havildar, Ben-
gal Ambulance Corps, an interesting account of a special service rendered in
the Mesopotamian Campaign. The corps was organized by Dr. Sarbadhikary/
(LL.D. Aberdeen, 1912), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta.
We continue to receive regularly the interesting "University of Durban^
College of Medicine Gazette," now in its seventeenth volume, and the six-
teenth year of its existence. Each number contains an article or two, some
lively notes on the life of the College, the list of a few appointments, and,
like all others of its kind during the war, tributes to members of the University
who have fallen, with their portraits.
" The Cambridge Magazine " continues to ignore the strength of the
cause of this country and her allies, and to provide a useful summary of
foreign opinions on the war.
10
Letters from Men on Service.
II.
BAPTISM OF FIRE : FROM A ROYAL ENGINEER.
You will have received my post-card saying that I was moving off.
Naturally you will have guessed that there was something in the wind, and I
am glad to say that I have returned to our old billets none the worse of my
first visit to the trenches.
We left our billets here last Tuesday and journeyed in buses to a place
which , I should think, knows well. At least his battalion was there a
considerable time. There we were billeted in a loft about four miles from
the firing line.
The country round about was absolutely flat, and comparatively speaking
showed little signs of the firing line being so near at hand. One thing, how-
ever, did not fail to let one know this, namely, a battery of 6-inch howitzers
hidden in the opposite side of the road from our billet. For the greater part
of the first night they were in action, and made the whole place shake.
The following night I paid my first visit to the trenches. In the clear
moonlight we marched along a canal bank for about three miles and then
broke off towards the line. Everything was quiet. Only the occasional
boom of a gun or the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun broke the stillness of the
night. Having finished our small task of preparation for the strafe, we re-
turned to billets early in the morning.
The whole of next day I spent in bed so that I would be thoroughly fit
for the hard and tiring work which I knew was before us.
Two more visits to the trenches, and our work was complete and ready
for the strafe.
So far the three preliminary visits were very quiet. There was nothing to
bother us in the way of fire from Fritz ; only two minenwerfers on the first
night, which landed about fifty yards away, gave any need for making for
cover.
On the day for the strafe we went into the trenches in the forenoon and
made final preparations. All along everything was quiet ; nothing unusual
was happening as far as the Bosche knew, until, at the precise moment, our
guns opened with a terrific roar. Whizz, whizz, overhead they flew bang into
the German front line. For half an hour this went on, during which time no
reply was sent back from the German lines, and it was easy for us to watch
in safety the whole of what was going on. Then suddenly Fritz started.
" Whizz bangs " galore came across, bursting all around except in our disused
trench where we had taken up our position.
Just before this we had seen the infantry go over in grand style. As
Letters from Men on Service 147
one man they went over and were soon about their grim business. Still the
shells flew around, and as each one fell, one and all cringed to the side of the
trench for as much cover as possible. Then on a pre-arranged signal we were
in action. It is curious how up to this time every one sought as much cover
as possible, but once this signal went every thought of cover was dispelled.
Having finished our part we packed up and were off. This, however, was no
easy task. We passed along our front line trench in comparative safety, and
then on through the supports. Here, as might be expected, the fire was heavy,
and the trenches were badly knocked in. On through this we passed, our ser-
geant leading the way, not knowing exactly where he was going. When we
came to the end of the trench we found we had come out at the wrong place.
There was nothing for it now except to get out there and cross over the open
for a distance of about four to five hundred yards. Across this we staggered
for we were all fagged out with our loads, and on all sides the "coal-boxes "
landed. By this time one had the feeling that although all the shells from
all the German guns were raining on this place, one would not hurry. At
last we arrived at our destination almost completely fagged out. This place
was the neighbouring village, where we were able to rest and drink for a
while. Having rested we continued our way to our billets, where most of us
were soon in bed and fast asleep.
Such was my first time " in action ". I shall never forget it, for it was
pretty rough for a first time, and as hot an hour and a half as many of the old
hands have had.
The whole affair was a complete success, and Fritz must have had a bad
shock. Naturally one feels a little shaky for the first time under fire, and I
was by no means sorry when all our work was over.
We are now back again in our old billets. I suppose we shall carry oq
as before, until our turn comes again.
The Bombardment of Belgrade University.
I HE present terrible war has naturally interfered in a
serious way with the work of the leading Universities
belonging to the nations engaged in the struggle. For-
tunately, our own country has escaped the horrors of
invasion, and the chief effects here have been a serious
crippling of finances and a depletion of classes. In
Oxford and Cambridge some of the Colleges have
practically been given up.
In such a world-wide crisis, one is naturally apt to forget — or at least to
undervalue — the troubles of the smaller nations. Belgium possesses some of
the oldest Universities in Europe. Every one knows the deplorable fate of
Louvain. The Germans there destroyed a library which was absolutely
unique. Recently, they have tried to win over the sympathies of the Flemings
by proposing to set up a Flemish University at Ghent. The leading pro-
fessors of Belgium, to their infinite credit, have refused to have anything to
do with this precious proposal. A few Dutchmen have consented to be
appointed, but one Dutch paper says with biting sarcasm that they have
probably done so only because they would never have obtained such a posi-
tion in their own country. We have, however, another " gallant little ally '*
in the south-east whose fortunes are less known to us, but of whose misfortunes
the world at least knows something — the brave little nation of Serbia. The
programme of the " strafexpedition " of Austria- Hungary into Serbia included
many items reminiscent more of mediaeval barbarism than of the wars of
civilised nations. Amongst these were the use of explosive bullets, the
massacre of prisoners and wounded soldiers, the butchery of civilians, the
pillage and destruction of private property, and the bombardment (without
warning) of open towns. It is the last item of the programme to which I
should like to refer, with particular mention of the wanton destruction of
Serbia's only seat of learning.
Belgrade is an open town, for its ancient Turkish fortress cannot in these
days be seriously regarded as a work of defence. It is merely an interesting
historical monument recalling the centuries of ruthless Turkish dominion
over the Serbs. Nevertheless, from the very outbreak of hostilities, Belgrade
was treated to a specially savage bombardment at the hands of the Austrians,
who apparently hoped by so doing to demonstrate the fact that they had been
duly baptized in the doctrine of ** Kultur," and thereby " had a right to all the
privileges of the sons and allies of the Kultured ". All sorts of buildings were
shelled without distinction. Hospitals, indeed, seemed to be picked out for
special attention. The University, whose noble facade overlooks the Danube,
and accordingly confronted the Austrian guns, has been almost wholly
destroyed; yet Austria was a party to the Hague Convention, which
The Bombardment of Belgrade University 149
expressly stipulates that " buildings devoted to science, the arts and charity "
must be preserved if they do not serve, and are not used for, any military
purpose.
The University was not being used for any military purpose, and it is not
situated in the neighbourhood of buildings whose destruction was necessary
for strategical reasons. The shrapnel shells from the other side of the
Danube penetrated the facade, and exploded in the interior. The part
devoted to the Faculty of Letters was demolished by large calibre shells
coming from the direction of the Save. The science laboratories with all
their valuable apparatus are utterly destroyed. There is no need to enlarge
upon the destruction effected by a soi-disant "Kultured" nation. The
reader will find full particulars with photographs in a French work, lately
prepared by M. Stanoiewitch, Principal of the University of Belgrade, copies
of which have been presented to the public libraries and to King's College
Library. The history of this very young University is extremely interesting,
and is typical of the perseverance of the people in its struggle for life among
the civilised nations.
From the fall of Constantinople till the first revolution in 1804, Serbia
was under the heel of the Turk. Primary schools and one High School,
founded in 1804, survived only till 18 13, when the Turkish hordes returned.
After the second revolution in 1815, primary schools were opened again,
but the High School had to wait till 1830. From this High School, de-
finitely transferred to Belgrade in 1841, was evolved the University. Its
early name was a " Lycee," and the name reveals the French origin of the
whole educational system. The main object in view was to provide an
" encyclopaedia " education for the future officials of the state, and this institu-
tion was managed directly by the Minister for Public Instruction.
Various changes and additions were made until, in 1905, a fully- equipped
University was established. The opening took place on 2 October, 1905,
in presence of the King, his Ministers, diplomatists, and many delegates from
foreign Universities. Telegrams and letters of congratulation were sent from
all parts of the world. It is an interesting fact that only one message came
from Austria, which possesses so many Universities, all of which were invited
to send delegates. This exceptional message came from the University of
Prague. Why did the Austrians in 1905 refuse to salute the youngest
University in Europe? They preferred to send their "Vivat," and
" Crescat," and " Floreat Alma Mater Serbica " in a new and original form,
unknown before July, 19 14 — namely, in the exclusive Austrian form of large
calibre projectiles.
ALEXANDER A. CORMACK.
The Birth Brieves of the Burgh of Aberdeen.
I HE records in the archives of the city of Aberdeen are
among the richest in Scotland. But while much of this
interesting material relating to the history of the town
has been published, much still remains in manuscript
form, difficult to decipher, and bound in volumes which
give no indication as to their contents. Among them are
four old volumes known as Propinquity Registers or Birth
Brieves. They relate to a period of i6o years (1637-
1797). So far only one of them has been published, in
the Spalding Club's " Miscellany," Vol. V.
The original MSS. are easy of access to the curious reader, and the in-
formation they contain is vast and varied. As can be inferred from their title,
the Registers were kept originally as records of family connections in days
when birth and marriage certificates were rare. After a time the testimony
given by the documents to facts of importance led to the process being applied
in other matters where it was desirable to have certified information sworn to
by responsible persons. Depositions of this character also are included under
the title "Birth Brieves". Gradually documents containing all sorts of in-
formation regarding trade and commerce were so treated, giving us a picture
of industrial life in those times. Thus the scope of the volumes is wider than
their designation. Their contents may be conveniently summarized as
follows : —
1. Birth Brieves proper.
2. Documents concerning trade and shipping.
3. Others relating to the curing of fish and pork.
4. Miscellaneous.
The proceeding was for the most part invariable. One or more persons
" compeared " before the magistrates of the burgh. Having been put on oath
to speak the truth, they emitted a declaration concerning their genealogy or
their business affairs, as the case might be. Witnesses to confirm their state-
ments were cited and sworn. The magistrates then gave the deponent a
written statement to the truth of his claims, signed with the seal of the burgh.
First, of the Birth Brieves proper. The simplest are mere statements of
relationship drawn up apparently without any motive other than the party's
desire to have a written and certified record of the fact. In a few cases they
trace descent for four or five generations, but generally do not go further than
grandparents. The witnesses are persons who have lived in the neighbour-
hood for many years, " and know as they have deponed, all which is truth as
they shall answer to God ". In most cases the declarants wish to establish a
connection to somebody who has died abroad, and whose heir they claim to
Birth Brieves of the Burgh of Aberdeen 151
be. They are required to send out ** proper powers of attorney and along
therewith ane authentic proof of their propinquity and relation to the said
deceased". In this respect the Brieves are peculiarly interesting as showing
the families who emigrated from the Eastern Counties to seek their fortunes
abroad. We find the typical Aberdeenshire names : Gordons of Coldwells,
and of Govel ; Skenes of Dyce ; Byres of Tonley ; Innes of Culquoich, as well
as representatives of the families of Burnett, Cruickshank, Forbes, Gilchrist,
and many more. Some of them attained high positions in foreign lands. In
1 695 Francis Fordyce, son of John Fordyce of Auchincrive, attended college
at Douai where his uncle was rector. From thence he went to Oran in the
Barbary States, where ultimately he was knighted by the King of Spain in
whose service he became admiral. After many years a shipmaster of Aber-
deen declares that he met with him on one of his voyages. **He was not
certain of what his real denomination was, only that he wore a flag with the King
of Spain's arms on his barge, which no others that had any concern with the
galleons wore but himself." David Martin, son of Alexander Martin, in Brae
of Pitfodels, was sometime sheriff of Hunterdon County, and in 1750 became
rector of an Academy for teaching languages and sciences, at Philadelphia.
Robert Donaldson, son of an Aberdeen surgeon, went abroad to St. Chris-
tophers where he became Deputy Provost Marshal about the year 1735. The
Rev. John Black of Auchterless became chaplain to His Majesty George II.
at Hampton Court. He transferred his services to the regiment commanded
by the Earl of Ancrum and went with the army to Germany, where he died.
Dr. Alexander Stuart, son of Alexander Stuart of Colpnay (and presumably
a graduate of Aberdeen), became physician to Queen Caroline, while John
Stiven, son of David Stiven at Kirktown of Feteresso, was about 1737
surgeon-in-ordinary to the Prince of Wales. Captain William Gordon, son to
James Gordon of Cobardy, died in service of the Empress of Austria (1768),
while Brigadier James Gordon, brother of Gordon of Achleuchries, served the
Emperor of Russia. James Gray, son of James Gray of Balgownie and nephew
to the Right Honourable Lord Gray, went to Riga. The description of one
John Innes who left Aberdeen for Surat reads like a modern passport : " A
well favoured youth, round, fair, and of clear colour, without any marks or
blemish in his face ".
Poland was popular with Aberdeen as a goal of emigration, and her sous
no doubt helped to stereotype the word Scot in Polish as the designation of a
packman or pedlar. Her merchants settled in Riga, Rotterdam, and Gotten-
berg. Many went westwards to Jamaica, Buenos Ayres, Virginia, and the
Carolinas, while a smaller number favoured India.
Quite different are the depositions relating to trade and shipping. Most
of them were made with a view to getting insurance on a ship and cargo
wrecked " through no fault of the Shipmaster and crew but allenarly by stress
of weather ". It was customary for the skipper in a storm to take a ** protest
at the main mast in presence of his crew that he might not be liable for any
damage the goods might sustain ". The deponents are usually merchants, and
their witnesses members of the crew of the lost ship. The insurance was
usually made for them by merchants in London or abroad. It is often ex-
pressed in " stivers Hollands money " or " gilders Pollish money ". Goods
damaged but not wholly destroyed by a storm were exposed for sale by " pub-
lict roupe " in the presence of a baillie or some other civic official.
152 Aberdeen University Review
During the wars with France the sea was infested with privateers. They
seized and looted the merchant vessels, keeping one or more of the crew
hostage until a heavy ransom was paid. On more than one occasion the un-
fortunate prisoner was never again heard of. In 17 10 during the wars of the
Spanish Succession, a ship sailing from Holland was taken by a French
pirate, " and after miserable maltreatment of the master and seamen, yea of
applying burning matches to the Master and other crueltyes, they pillaged the
said ship of all things they could get, of boxes, bags, mats and a whole hogs-
head of reid wyn ". . . . " And after all the said skipper was forced to ran-
some for one hundereth pund sterling according to the ransom bill."
Sometimes the ransom bill amounted to more than ;£2oo. In October,
1 744, a ship was actually kidnapped from Montrose harbour. " The priva-
teer had got in over the bar of Montrose and launched her boat which came
up to the ship, cut her cables and carried her out to sea." Merchantmen
often sought the protection of naval vessels. In one deposition the skipper
of a trading ship complained of their naval convoy sailing so fast that the
smaller boat could not keep up with her, but was taken by a pirate near
Montrose (June, 1708). One privateer is described as having " four mounted
guns and about fifty more ".
During the French wars too, the Pressgang was active. In May, 1 706,
the Eagle was forced by stress of weather to seek shelter in Dublin har-
bour. Most of her crew were " pressed " into the navy, so that there were
not sufficient sailors left to man the ship. The captain made the best of it
by selling the cargo in Dublin. In 1756, during the Seven Years War, the
Pressgang was busy in Aberdeen.
It is perhaps unfair to question whether the deponents had always a strict
regard for the truth, but the accounts of some voyages read suspiciously. In
1 7 16 one boat bound from " Ferimus in the Murray Firth" to London was
wrecked off Girdle Ness. "The country people, about sixty men cam down,
and the said James Dunbar went down to them and prayed and intreated them
to work and the master would pay them, but they would not." A few of the
shipwrecked crew " took horse and rode to Aberdeen and made application
to the magistrates for help to save ship and cargoe''. . . . "The Magistrates
of Aberdeen with their officers came in person threatned, beat and whipt the
rabill," who were stealing all they could lay hands on, " notwithstanding a
strong guard of souldiers who shote at some of them". Next day **they
rode to town, being a post day, and the master wrote letters to whom con-
cerned, which the said James Dunbar copied and sent them that post and
gave ane exact account of what was saved ".
It is difficult to realize now the time a ship could spend in these days on
a voyage to the Baltic or the Mediterranean. In October, 1714, a boat with
a cargo of herring set off from the Moray Firth to Dantzig. She touched at
Copenhagen, where she remained all the winter. In March she finally sailed
for Dantzig, where she disposed of the herring and was reloaded with flax,
iron, and hemp. Another vessel laden with dried cod from Aberdeen to Leg-
horn took so long on the voyage that the captain realized that before they
reached Leghorn the season for selling fish would be over. Accordingly he
sold the cargo in Cadiz and Saloa.
To a person interested in the industrial history of the eighteenth century
these old depositions on shipping convey valuable information. In 1721
Birth Brieves of the Burgh of Aberdeen 153
7050 yards of linen, as well as 150 dozen worsted stockings " all of the manu-
factory and product of this county," were shipped from Aberdeen to Cadiz.
One thousand quintall of ling " taken and dryed by the fishers of the sea
towns of this and neighbouring counties " were sent to Barcelona. Salmon,
herrings, and lead formed the cargo of a vessel bound for Venice in 17 13.
Salmon, grilse, herring, plaiden, and stockings were regularly exported to Ger-
many and the Low Countries. In 1741, **one hundred and fourty one baggs
of peese" were sent to Campvere. In 1748 a cargo of barley worth ^^125
sterling was exported from Fraserburgh to Gottenberg. In these days Cro-
marty and Chanonry (now Fortrose) were flourishing seaport towns with a
herring trade. Several times there is mention of brandy sent from Aberdeen
to London. The procedure is instructive. Before being sent aboard ship it
was tasted by the Couper, his servant, and the master of the vessel. On its
arrival in London samples taken from each cask were sealed in vials and sent
back to Aberdeen. They were opened and tasted in presence of the Town
Clerk, a Baillie, and a few other witnesses. It is interesting to find that in
these days oatmeal was largely exported from Newburgh. Its destination
was generally the Continent, but sometimes Ireland.
The principal imports of Aberdeen mentioned in these documents were
flax, lint, hemp, and iron from Germany ; wine from the Canaries ; lemons
and oil from the West Indies, and nuts from Gibraltar. Some cargoes are de-
scribed as "Hollands goods," which included "aprons and broad knetings ''.
On one occasion " thirty eight loaves of sugar containing two hundred pounds
@ 72/ per cwt." were shipped for Aberdeen from Leith. The Sf. Lucas ^
which stranded at Montrose in 171 1, carried raisins, figs, green tea, cofi'ee
beans, rice and a "rimen" of large grey paper. In November, 1707, a boat
from Ireland met with a storm near the Island of Cara and had to throw over-
board about eighty-two casks of butter. There is mention of honey sent from
Dantzig and " dails and trees from Norroway ".
The Brieves relating to the curing of meat and fish form perhaps the
most uninteresting reading of all. The depositions appear to have been made
to show that the duty imposed on salt in those days had been duly paid.
The deponents swear that they have used only " forraigne great salt without
mixture of british or Irish salt imported since the first of May, 1707, for
which her Majesty's duety was paid or secured ". We find mention of the
number of barrels of salmon cured varying from one to thirty-six. The most
important fishing grounds appear to have been the Cruives on Don, the
waters of Ythan rented by James Gordon of Ellon, the Netherdon rented by
Mr. John Gordon, Civilist of the King's College, and the King's Cavell on
Don, of which William Gordon of Govell was heritor. The quotations about
cod caught and cured give an idea as to trade at the time. Patrick Cruikshank
in Peterhead, " cured, pyned and packed four thousand and eight hundereth
dry codd fish," while in the same year some fishers in CuUen of Boyne depone
that they cured ** three thousand and six hundereth small and great codd fish ".^
1 *♦ Instructions from the Magistrates and Counsell of the burgh of Aberdeen to John
AUardes, late Provost Commissioner for the said burgh to the ensueing parliament.
"June 20, 1705.
" Item to get ane act of parliament encourageing the salting and cureing of pork and that
it be free of ail duety seeing it is cured with foraigne salt. And that non be salted under
seventy pund weight clean pork, and that non be salted for exportation or sale but what is
154 Aberdeen University Review
In addition to the various classes of Brieves mentioned, there are several
miscellaneous depositions which sometimes puzzle one as to why they were
made. One of them deals with a wager between William Gordon, Collector
of the Customs at Aberdeen, and James Paterson, Landsurveyor, as to " whether
it was possible for a ship to goe out of the harbour of Aberdeen that day ".
Two old seamen were called to settle the debate, and it was agreed that it was
only possible " if she were lying in Torry under the weather shore ". In 1722
John Strachan, a merchant in Dundee, complained that a shipmaster in Bergen
insured heavily a ship and cargo of small value. ** The insurance seemed to
be made out a very fals and bade designe of sinking the ship at sea in order to
recover the insurance." Whereupon fishermen from Newburgh who had seen
the ship deserted and sinking gave their evidence. A Brieve of an unusual
character tells how one James Douglas "was brought up in the said burgh a
poor boy," and that the deponent had seen him " go thorrow the town in his
mother's hand and geting charity ". A few were made to prove that ships
had duly performed quarantine. One of unusual interest deserves to be
quoted in extenso.
" Compeared John Anderson and John Pratt, shipmasters in Aberdeen,
and John Smith one of the towne officers of Aberdeen, and being solemnly
swome deponed that upon Friday last in the forenoon their comeing a ship
out of the sea into the road of Aberdeen with a flagg upon her topp- masthead,
and fyreing a gunne, and she being discovered to be a french privateer, the
deponents by order of the magistrates of Aberdeen upon account of the for-
said signall and the cessation of arms being proclamed both for sea and land
at London and France, went and called for one of the boats of Footie in the
suburbs of Aberdeen and therein went aboard of the said privateer in the road
of Aberdeen haveing then her said flagg displayed upon the said topmasthead.
And they after they went aboard demanded of the Captain of the privateer
what he wanted seeing he hade putt out and made forsaids signalls, who
without answering anything except that it was for his ransoms, ordered the
deponents to his cabine, and told them they were his prisoners of warr, and
would not permitt them to goe ashoar againe aboard of their own boat except
that they would ransome. And the deponents having told him severall tyms
that they had come aboard of him by order of the saids magistrates and upon
the faith of the said signall that therfor and in respect of the cessation of
arms as said is a proclamation whereof by her Majestic Queen Anne they
produced and delivered to him and which he kept. They would not ransome,
yet nevertheless he told the deponents that he hade no regaurd thereto, and
would not suffer them to goe ashoar againe without they would ransome, so
that he carryed them to sea and detained them untill the Sabbath day there-
after in the afternoon that the Deponents and Captain of the said Privateer
entered in a communeing anent the said ransome so that for their liberation
and urgent business ashoar they were forced to agree with the Captain of the
said privateer for one hundereth and ten pund sterling money of ransom con-
forme to the ransome brief subscribed by them and Lewis de Villay, Captain
commander of the said privateer the Neptune of Calais of four mounted guns
slaughtered betwixt the fyfteinth of December and the fyfteinth day of March yeirly under
the penalty of twenty pund for each swyne. And that every barrell conteine two hundereth
and ten pund weight of pyned pork and have the townes birne marke upon the same. And
that the Deans of Gild and Shirrefs see this act putt in executione." — (Copied from unpub-
lished documents of the Town House.)
Birth Brieves of the Burgh of Aberdeen 155
and about sixty men. And also depons that they with John Morrisone sailler
in Alloway who was a ransomer aboard the said privateer to be hostage for
them for their ransome. And that thereafter about ten acloak at night upon
the said Sabbath day the said privateer putt the deponents ashoar upon the
Isleand of May in the South Firth. And the deponents heard the Captain of
the said privateer desyre his boats crew who brought them ashoar to bring
him of two shep afif of the said Isleand. And depons that they did see his said
crew take four shep aff the said Isleand and carry them aboard. And that
the said Isleand is the place where the light hous is kept in the entry to the
Firth of forth other wayes called the River of Edinburgh. And this is the
truth."
Although some of the Brieves are too incoherent to be of any value, they
prove on the whole a mine of wealth for the genealogist and local historian.
They emphasize the close contact that Scotland had in the past with the
Continent of Europe — a. contact which has given us a great identity with the
European mind and which has been emphasized by Baron Friedrich von Hugel
in his new book, " The German Bait ".
MARGARET R. MACKENZIE.
Correspondence .
THE WAR AND SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE "REVIEW".
The Editor, " Aberdeen University Review ".
First Unitarian Church, Berkeley, California, U.S.,
December, 1916.
Sir,
In 1 91 4 I left London to seek a better climate. After having charge
of a Church in Victoria, British Columbia, for rather more than a year, I ac-
cepted a call to the First Unitarian Church, Berkeley, California. This is a
College church at the gates of the University of California. The University
has an extraordinarily large enrolment of students (over 5000), and my work
lies especially in the student community. Berkeley is beautifully situated on
San Francisco Bay, opposite the city. Within my parish is also the Pacific
Unitarian School for the ministry, one of whose students is my assistant. I
have been here a little over a year, and find the life and work of a College-
town minister in California full of interest.
I have not been allowed to return to England, having come to the Pacific
Coast for my health, but my wife (Mabel Grant, M.A., 1908) and I follow
with the closest interest the great service which our "Alma Mater " is doing in
Britain's hour of trial. We mourn the loss of several friends of College days,
and watch for news of others who are on active service. It has not been
easy for us to stay thousands of miles away while our best friends are making
the great sacrifice.
The Review must not suffer ; more than ever shall we need it after the
war, when so many will move to new posts and the reconstruction will begin.
In memory of Andrew Eraser, William Urquhart, and Angus Legge, I am
enclosing three extra subscriptions with my own. Their memory and that of
a sadly large number of others who have laid down their lives is cherished in
our home.
Please send copies of the Review for the year 19x7 to any three of the
following who are not subscribers already : —
Miss H. A. F. Berry, Seamen's Hostel, Belvedere, Kent.
Miss Mary Cook, Boghead, Clatt, Aberdeenshire.
Capt. Lachlan Macrae, c/o Schoolhouse, Brin, Daviot, Inverness-shire.
Capt. David M. Baillie, c/o Mrs. Baillie, Sea view Road, Nairn,
W. D. V. Slesser — present address unknown to me. [2nd Lieut. Cavalry
Branch, Indian Army Reserve of Officers, Zhob Militia, Fort Sandeman,
Baluchistan].
In addition to these three memorial subscriptions for the year 191 7, 1 en-
close my own for 191 6- 17.
I am, etc.,
Harold E. B. Speight.
[M.A., 1908 ; and with first-class Honours in Mental Philosophy, 1909.]
The Editor has received the following from the distinguished head of
another University : —
" Many thanks for the November number of the Review. I have read it
with much interest — and some envy."
Reviews.
David Gill — Man and Astronomer. Memories of Sir David Gill, K.C.B.,
H.M. Astronomer (1879- 1907) at the Cape of Good Hope. Collected
and arranged by George Forbes, F.R.S., with portraits and illustrations.
London: John Murray, 191 6.
This Biography of a distinguished man of science ought not to pass unnoticed
in the pages of this Review. Its subject was born in Aberdeen, he was a
student in our Marischal College and University during the last two years of
its separate existence, and — opere peracto — when his many wanderings had
ended, they laid his body to rest, as he had himself arranged, in the church-
yard of our own venerable Cathedral.
David Gill was born at 48 Skene Terrace, on 12 June, 1843. He was
the eldest of those who survived from infancy of the family of David Gill,
Senior, who carried on, at 78 Union Street, a leading business as a wholesale
dealer in, rather than maker of, clocks and watches. After spending his early
school-days at Dr. Tulloch's Academy, David was sent, in 1857, along with
his younger brother Patrick, to Dollar Academy where they boarded with the
head master, Dr. Lindsay. Gill returned from Dollar before the beginning of
the winter college session of 1858-9 and during that session and the follow-
ing he attended at Marischal College, as a "private" student, Natural History
under Professor Nicol, Chemistry under Mr., afterwards Professor, Brazier,
and Mathematics under Professor Cruickshank (along with the extra-academi-
cal classes of Dr. David Rennet) — but, in addition, Gill reaped the inestimable
advantage of the intellectual stimulus of the lectures on Natural Philosophy of
one who has been spoken of as " the greatest natural philosopher the world
has seen since the death of Isaac Newton," namely. Professor James Clerk
Maxwell. As a co-prizeman with Gill in Maxwell's class of 1859-60, the
writer can fully appreciate and endorse Gill's remark made in after-life, that
" Maxwell's teaching influenced the whole of my future life ". Nearly half a
century after these Marischal College days, in his Presidential Address to the
British Association in 1907, Gill made special mention of Maxwell's teaching,
referring to "the whimsical way in which he used to impress great principles
upon us. We all laughed before we understood : then some of us understood
and remembered." Gill instanced Maxwell's objections to our "very un-
practical standards" of measure, which "any capable physicists in Mars or
Jupiter " would understand, if only we adopted, say, " the wave-length of the
D-line of sodium " vapour as our measure of length — a measure permanent,
no doubt, and available anywhere in the Universe where sodium is found, but
equalling about ^(i\(i(^ of i inch !
Aberdeen, unfortunately, lost Maxwell in i860 at the Union of the Uni-
versities, but his influence remained. Unwittingly, but not the less really,
158 Aberdeen University Review
Gill continued until 1872 fitting himself for the scientific pursuits of his life.
Writing in the height of his fame as H.M. Astronomer at the Cape to an old
friend, he said — " You are quite right. . . . The best part of my astronomical
education was the time I spent in a workshop. Here, far away from Grubb,
or Cooke, or Troughton and Simms, many a mess I should have been in but
for that training." Gill was referring to the years he spent in fitting himself
for the work of his father's business which he entered as a junior partner in
1863. With this object before him, yielding to his father's urgent request,
and stifling, for a time, those strong scientific leanings which Maxwell's in-
fluence had evoked. Gill entered on a settled plan of training which consisted
of extended visits to London, Switzerland, including Besangon, Paris, and
then Coventry and Clerkenwell, in each of which centres he engaged in
practical work in the leading watch-making establishments and thereby ac-
quired the technical skill to design, construct, and alter the most delicate in-
struments and the most complicated machinery. What such practical skill
implies for an astronomer one may gather from a glance into Gill's own article
on "Heliometer" in the nth edition of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica'*.
The high mathematical powers which the achievements of Newton, Laplace,
Adams, and Leverrier demanded did not lie within Gill's range : but the
superb accuracy of his work as one of the greatest astronomers of precision,
in respect of the minutest details, is now fully recognized. In this connexion
one must not omit reference to a great natural gift, that of remarkably fine
eyesight. A splendid shot at the butts as a rifleman in early life, he was
always a keen sportsman and an expert at deer-stalking. By his lengthy
residence abroad he acquired, moreover, such a familiarity with the French
language as stood him in good stead as when, in the summer of 1879, on the
eve of his departure for the Cape, he had occasion to visit officially no fewer
than eight Continental Observatories, namely those of Paris, Leiden, Gronin-
gen, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Helsingfors, Pulkowa and Strassburg.
As above indicated, it was in 1872 that Gill finally left business and
entered on scientific pursuits. It came about in this way. After his return
home in 1863, through a friendly and helpful association at King's College
with Professor David Thomson, Maxwell's successor, Gill made such advances
in astronomical knowledge that, in 1867, he furnished his "observatory" in
the garden at Skene Terrace with a first-class telescope of admirable defini-
tion, having a speculum of 12 inches and focal length of 10 feet. This in-
strument, bought second-hand, he mounted equatorially, the principal castings
being made in Aberdeen from his own design, while the driving- clock was
of his own construction. With this instrument he had begun to attempt
the measurement of stellar-distances through observations of parallax. He
also attained to such success in photographing the moon's surface that a photo-
graph of exceptional quality, sent to Dr. Huggins, came under the notice of
another amateur astronomer like himself, Lord Lindsay, who was so impressed
with its scientific value that, in December, 187 1, his father, the Earl of Craw-
ford and Balcarres, addressed to Gill a letter intimating Lord Crawford's in-
tention to build and equip an Observatory at Dunecht and inviting Gill to
become its first Director. The answer to this offer involved a momentous
decision — but it was soon arrived at, for Gill was not without a ready coun-
sellor and guide. Some eighteen months previously he had been married to
the lady whom, one Sunday in August, 1865, he had met incidentally on the
Reviews 159
way, along with a cousin who resided in Foveran, to the Parish Church there
— although Gill was an Episcopalian, as the writer can testify who statedly
twice every Sunday, used to meet the family on their way to what was then
known as " the Chapel," or " St. Andrew's Chapel," now " St. Andrew's
Cathedral," in King Street. This lady gave her voice for the abandonment
of the pursuit of " filthy lucre " in the prosperous Union Street business, and
so, through the acceptance of Lord Crawford's offer, astronomy ceased to be
Gill's hobby and became his life-long absorbing pursuit.
The planning and equipment of the Observatory which Lord Crawford
was establishing at Dunecht had gone on for two years when it had to be
discontinued. The two enthusiasts set out in the autumn of 1874 — -Lord
Lindsay in his yacht Venus and Gill (in charge of fifty chronometers for the
determination of longitude) by the Red Sea route — for Mauritius, to take the
measurements of an important astronomical event that had been looked for-
ward to since its last recurrence in 1 769, namely, the transit of the planet
Venus across the sun's disc on 9 December, 1874. It may be stated that
while, at the critical moments in the planet's progress, the atmospheric con-
ditions were only moderately satisfactory, Gill formed the opinion that, on the
whole, the difficulty of determining the exact instant of contact of the limbs
of the sun and planet (which, as he has explained, " is not a sharply-marked
phenomenon, but a gradual merging of the two limbs ") rendered this method
of determining the sun's distance not entirely reliable. He, later on, formed
the opinion that observations on the minor planets. Iris, Victoria, and Sappho,
were to be preferred.
On his way home from Mauritius with the chronometers, Gill accom-
plished such valuable geodetical work during his stay in Egypt that the Khe-
dive, on the recommendation of his adviser, General Stone, offered to Gill
the Directorship of a proposed Geodetical Survey of the country. The offer
was ultimately declined, but its consideration led, almost unavoidably, to a
review of the existing relationship at Dunecht between Lord Crawford, Lord
Lindsay, and Gill, with the result that, after fullest deliberation, *' the two
friends decided to part," but " with undiminished friendship and esteem on
both sides ". Gill left Dunecht in the summer of 1876 and three years later
(June, 1879) he and his wife arrived in Cape Town, Gill to take up at the
Observatory there what was to be his work for the next twenty-seven years as
H.M. Astronomer at the Cape. For this distinguished post he had given
further evidence of his fitness by his successful conduct of an Expedition to
the Island of Ascension for the determination of solar parallax by a method
suggested by the Astronomer Royal in 1857 but never yet satisfactorily carried
out. It consisted of independent observations of Mars, morning and evening,
at the time (5 September, 1877) when the planet would be in opposition (i.e.,
the Earth would be between it and the Sun) and nearer to the Earth than for
the next hundred years. The results were considered satisfactory, and were
confirmed by Gill's later observations on minor planets above referred to.
The result at which he ultimately arrived for the Sun's mean distance from
the Earth (which is the fundamental astronomical unit of measurement, or
"base line ") is now generally accepted, being 92,876,000 miles, correspond-
ing to a horizontal equatorial parallax of 8*802". On this expedition to a
remote and desolate Admiralty Station Gill was accompanied by his wife,
who afterwards published a most interesting description of their experiences
i6o Aberdeen University Review
in her "Six Months in Ascension — an Unscientific Account of a Scientific
Expedition ".
No adequate account of Gill's scientific work at the Cape Observatory
could be attempted here, nor does his biographer supply such account. Per-
haps, however, his greatest achievement is what is known in the astronomical
world as the "C.P.D.," the "Cape Photographic Durchmusterung " — being,
for the Southern hemisphere, what the Bonn Durchmusterung of Argelander
and Schonfeldt was for the Northern, namely, a systematic attempt at research
into the problems of solar space, by measurement of stellar parallax, through
the employment of photography in star-charting. Before commencing this
magnum opus Gill wrote (i8 December, 1883) thereanent to Sir George Airy,
then retiring from the office of Astronomer Royal at Greenwich, "I am
willing to give up my rest at night for the next ten or twelve years for this
work {and to do it with my own hands) if Government will give me the
necessary means — a 7 -inch Heliometer ". The account given by a friend of
the way in which Gill ultimately obtained from the Treasury in London the
cost of this splendid instrument shows how by dogged persistence he could
overcome the most masterful official inertia and red tape.
While, as has been indicated, Gill's biographer wisely makes no attempt to
turn his work into a Treatise on Astronomy, there is enough stated to con-
firm the truth of the remark, once made by a leading astronomer, that " the
most important part of a telescope is the man at the small end ". But surely
it is always so. It is the skilful use of an instrument that counts, rather than
its fine quality.
After leaving the Cape, Gill took up residence in the top flat of a lofty
house in Kensington, No. 34 De Vere Gardens, from which he had an open
sky view with extensive outlook over a great part of London. It became, so
far as the uncertain state of his wife's health would allow, the meeting-place
of astronomers from all parts. The bestowment of K.C.B. in 1900 had been
followed by membership of a score or more of the leading scientific societies
of the world. His interest in their work, the reduction of certain of his Cape
Observations, and the completion of his "History and Description of the
Cape Observatory " occupied his energies to the end. His seventieth birth-
day (12 June, 1 913) found him the hearty host of a party of intimate astrono-
mical friends. In the following December, however, he caught a severe cold
which developed into double pneumonia, the end coming on the morning of
24 January, 19 14. He is survived by Lady Gill.
Gill, as a man, is presented to us as endowed with a high honesty and
single-mindedness of purpose, an overflowing joy of living, and a catholicity
of interests, in the pursuit of which he displayed an enduring enthusiasm born
(if a Scotsman and an Aberdonian may say it) of his strenuous early training
and upbringing. There are not many of whom it could be told that when in
1909 (in the sixty-seventh year of his age) he was attending in Paris, as the
British Representative, the International Congress on Weights and Measures,
at the concluding banquet and dance at the Observatory he made a speech
in French and danced almost every dance.
His biographer gives some interesting stories on the personal side. The
following may be cited. There had been amon"g leading Astronomers a sort
of axiomatic belief that one-tenth of a second of arc might be taken as the
ultimate limit of accuracy of measurement. Gill claimed that he could show
Reviews i6i
from the concordant results of his heliometer observations that one-hundredth
of a second of arc (o"oi" ) was attainable. He had been maintaining this
at a lecture before a scientific society, explaining that the angle was less
than that which would be covered by a three-penny piece at loo miles dis-
tance. At a dinner in the evening he got a genial reminder of his Aber-
donian Doric by the remark of the Chairman that nobody but a Scotsman
would bother about a three-penny bit loo miles away. Gill took it in good
part.
As regards his religious belief it was in keeping alike with those lofty
views of the infinite power of the Creator and those profound lessons of a
Christ-like humility with which the subject of his life-work had inspired him»
When I look up unto the heav'ns
Which Thine own fingers fram'd,
Unto the moon, and to the stars,
Which were by Thee ordain'd ;
Then say I, What is man, that he
Remember'd is by Thee ?
Or what the son of man, that Thou
So kind to him should'st be ?
Robert Walker.
The Lost Aberdeen Theses. By J. F. Kellas Johnstone. Aberdeen :
At the University Press. Pp. 23.
Class Records in Aberdeen and in America. By J. M. Bulloch, with a
Bibliography of Aberdeen Class Records by P. J. Anderson. Aberdeen :
At the University Press. Pp. 39.
Our Alma Mater may not be unique by reason of giving birth to a
Review, but, surely, it is absolutely unique as the mother of two Reviews.
The Aberdeen University Review was born in 1913, but it has to admit
the primogeniture of the " Aberdeen University Library Bulletin," which is
senior by two years. The uninitiated may, perhaps, imagine that the
*' Bulletin " is merely a list of ** accessions " to the Library, but this is far from
being the case. It is no dry-as-dust catalogue, but a publication of real liter-
ary interest and merit. Almost every number has contained one or more
special articles by writers acknowledged as authorities on the subjects dis-
cussed, and had the Review not come upon the scene, the *' Bulletin " would
almost certainly have developed into a Graduates* Magazine. Of the articles
which have appeared in the " Bulletin " none has surpassed in value and
interest those reprinted, with additions, in the two brochures now under
notice.
For very many years, in fact "from Grammar School days," Mr. Kellas
Johnstone has been investigating the literary history of the North-East of
Scotland. In the present article he deals with a rather obscure section of
Aberdeen University bibliography — the prints of the Theses annually contested
in the earlier years of both King's College and Marischal College by the
candidates for graduation in Arts. The exact origin in the Scottish Uni-
versities of the disputations at graduation has not yet been discovered, but
there is little doubt that the practice was based on that of Continental Uni-
versities, where such disputations "in all faculties early acquired a high im-
II
1 62 Aberdeen University Review
portance and standard". The earliest example of Theses known to Mr.
Kellas Johnstone was printed for the Edinburgh Arts Graduation of 1596.
He does not think, however, that the system originated in Edinburgh, but
rather in the earlier foundations of St. Andrews and Glasgow. The earliest
extant Aberdeen Theses are those of Marischal College in 1616, prepared by
Andrew Aidie, and printed in Edinburgh; for it was only in 1622 that Ed-
ward Raban set up the first printing press in Aberdeen, and was appointed
printer to the city and the Universities. Thereafter, for more than a hundred
years, the Theses of both Colleges were printed locally.
The Theses were, as a rule, prepared by the regent towards the close of
the four years' curriculum, and generally included a series of numbered
propositions in Logic, Moral Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics, and in
Astronomical or Mathematical Science. They were printed in Latin, usually
in the form of a small quarto book. On the title-page was stated the
character of the propositions that were to be " propugned," the name of the
college and of the praeses, and the date of the disputation. The names of
the candidates also were sometimes given upon the title-page, but more
frequently they appeared at the close of a dedicatory address to some
influential patron of the college.
More than 200 Arts Graduation Theses were printed in Aberdeen, but of
these less than a third are now known to exist, and only 30 are in the
University Library. There was not published in those days a " University
Calendar " with the graduation examination papers incorporated. " It must
be conceded," says Mr. Kellas Johnstone, "that the interest of ordinary in-
dividuals and even of the students themselves in such ephemera has always
been transient, and that, if left unbound, small tracts are very liable to acci-
dents and quickly perish."
The most valuable feature of the Theses nowadays is the accompanying
lists of names of the candidates for graduation. The University Class
Registers for the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries are
either altogether wanting or else very defective. The result is that there are
serious blanks in the published records of both Colleges. It is very desirable
in the interests of local historical and genealogical research that the missing
Theses — exceeding 150 in number — should be found. Mr. Kellas Johnstone
is certain that a thorough search in the libraries of mansion houses of the old
county families from Angus to Caithness would reveal the existence of these
valuable records, and he appeals to the present owners to exhume them.
Since the author contributed his paper to the " Bulletin " in June, 191 5, he
has continued his researches, and the result is that about a third of the
present " reprint " is new matter. One very interesting fact that has come to
light is that Harvard University at its first graduation in 1642 adopted the
Scots form of Arts Graduation Theses, and retained it down to 18 10.
In an appendix to the paper, Mr. Kellas Johnstone gives some examples
of the lists of students' names recovered from the Theses, "with a few
notes of identification to increase their human interest ". The statistics and
location of the Theses which are known are also appended, and with the
reproduction, as frontispiece, of the title-page of King's College Theses, 1622
— probably the first book printed in Aberdeen — give completeness to a piece
of very careful and valuable work.
But it was not in the matter of Theses only that the American Uni-
Reviews 163
versities followed the example of Scotland. A much more striking importation
was the four years' curriculum introduced in 1756 into the Philadelphia
College — the forerunner of the University of Philadelphia — by its first
Provost, William Smith, who matriculated at King's College, Aberdeen, in
session 1743-44, and received the degree of D.D. there in 1759. All the
older Universities of the United States, with one exception, adopted the same
curriculum, as also did the new ones when they came to be founded. Now,
it is the Class system which prevailed in Aberdeen down to 1889 and which
was taken by William Smith to America, that is responsible for the develop-
ment both there and here of "a remarkable system of Class organizations, in
the shape of post-graduate gatherings and printed records ". It is with this
development that Mr. J. M. Bulloch deals in the second brochure. The
subject is one on which he is particularly well fitted to write, possessing, as he
does, those qualities which he quotes as being essential in a Class Secretary
— " a genius for pothering, a passion for exactness, an antiquarian's zeal for
details, and enough of a poet's imagination to know what people will be
interested in reading ".
In America the organization of the Class has been carried to a very fine
point. The members become a corporate body from the day they enter the
University. Office-bearers are at once appointed, meetings of the Class are
held regularly, and in the fourth year of the curriculum the most elaborate ar-
rangements are made for preserving the unity of the Class after graduation.
A Treasurer is elected, for the importance of establishing Class funds is fully
recognized. It is the Secretary, however, that can make or mar a Class.
Realizing this, Yale has actually published " A Handbook for Class Secre-
taries". It has also formed an "Association of Class Secretaries,*' and a
"Class Secretaries' Bureau," which collects data concerning graduates and
non-graduates and renders every possible assistance in compiling Records.
There is apparently no limit to the activities of the efficient Class Secretary.
He revels in genealogy, paying equal attention to ancestors and descendants.
The latter seem, indeed, to get rather more attention, for at Harvard, at any
rate, the Secretary forwards a cradle and other gifts to the member who has
" presented the Class with its first Child ".
Things have not advanced quite so far as this in Aberdeen. While we
agree with the American Universities in holding Class Reunions and in pub-
lishing Class Records, we have to admit that in both these activities they far
excel us. On the other hand, Aberdeen University is the only one in Scot-
land in which the Class Record is to be found. " It is," says Mr. Bulloch
very truly, " like many other things connected with Aberdeen, sui generis, a
sort of mixture made up of pride in individual success, and of intense affection
for one's cradle and one's comrades."
In recent years, unfortunately, there has been in Aberdeen a very marked
attenuation of the Class spirit, as a consequence of the abolition of the stereo-
typed curriculum. The likelihood is, however, that the courses of study,
which theoretically are almost infinite in number, will in practice be reduced
to a very few, and so the old Class spirit may revive. If this does not give
the Class Record a fresh lease of life, Mr. Bulloch thinks that the War will.
A Record is founded on sentiment, and the growth of sentiment will be one
outcome of the War. Just as Rolls of Honour have sprung into existence
to enshrine the names of those who have gone to defend their country, so will
164 Aberdeen University Review
Records appear to detail and perpetuate their services. To all who would
become efficient " recorders," the method of working set forth by Mr. Bul-
loch may be confidently recommended.
Accompanying Mr. Bulloch's article is an annotated Bibliography of
Aberdeen Class Records, from the years 1789-91 down to 1904-8. This has
been compiled by Mr. P. J. Anderson, and is typical of the accuracy and
thoroughness of all his work.
Theodore Watt.
Oxford University Press. General Catalogue, November, 1916. Oxford:
Humphrey Milford. Pp. viii. + 566.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, has many sins laid to his charge, but
when the final account is made up there will always remain to counterbalance
them the wisdom and generosity shown by him when Chancellor of Oxford
University in 1 564-1 588. The murder of Amy Robsart would perhaps have
been forgotten by now, had not Scott so unkindly raked it up again in " Kenil-
worth," and that little matter of bigamy has faded from most men's memory ;
but as long as learned books are held precious, Robert Dudley will be honoured
for the good work he did on their behalf. It was his wisdom that saw the
desirability of encouraging and extending the printing business in Oxford,
already begun on a very small scale in the fifteenth century ; and his gener-
osity that suppHed the funds for the new Press which started the University
on her great adventure as a pioneer and model publisher. From his day
onward, the Oxford University Press, with varying fortunes, has always main-
tained the highest standard, both in the works it has produced and in the
style of its production. In Queen Anne's reign it is found suffering from want
of space and proper housing, but once again private generosity comes to its
aid. The University was enriched by the gift of the copyright of Lord
Clarendon's " History of the Rebellion," and money accruing from this was
devoted to the erection of a magnificent building which served as a home for
the Press for over a hundred years. Very fittingly, it quickly became known
as the Clarendon Press, and this name it still retained when in 1830 it was
moved to its present abode.
There has recently appeared a General Catalogue of the works issued by
the Press, drawn up in the form of a subject catalogue ; and from this we
may see in what varied directions its activities have extended, now that it is
in its fifth century. Like Bacon it seems to have taken all knowledge for its
province, and there is a fine, austere, academic air about the list, suggesting
a high culture which may encourage such relaxations as music and art but
will stoop to no mere amusement. Some pedagogic sternness too peeps out
on p. 356, where we learn that Keys will be issued only to teachers and bona-
fide private students. Probably one of its greatest achievements is the New
Oxford Dictionary, which comes as near perfection in expressive typography
as anything produced up to the present time ; but even in an ordinary text-
book, if it bear the Clarendon imprint, one can safely count on good paper and
clear print. It is pleasant to note how the Press acts as a bond in the brother-
hood of universities. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, in America, and
St. Andrews in Scotland, are glad to use the Oxford University Press as a dis-
tributing agent for their pubUcations, finding under its distinguished aegis a
Reviews 165
wider audience than they could otherwise hope for. It seems almost a pity
that the Aberdeen University Studies are not arranged for in the same way,
thus obviating the difficulty of would-be purchasers, who find themselves at a
loss where to apply for copies.
One notes certain apparent omissions in the work, such as the earlier
Schweich lectures, 1 908-1913, which can hardly be out of print by this time ;
and some trifling errors in the Index ; but the Catalogue is a piece of excel-
lent work, well worthy of a permanent place on the library shelf, and nowise
to be relegated to the waste-paper basket, that fitting tomb of most publishers*
lists.
M. S. Best.
The Character and History of Pelagius' Commentary on the Epistles
OF St. Paul. Paper read before the British Academy by Professor A.
Souter, M.A., D.Litt., 15 March, 191 6.
This paper, illustrative of the great erudition and fruitful textual labours
of its author, which must have covered many years, begins with a recapitula-
tion of the results claimed in a previous lecture, 12 December, 1906, and
their confirmation by subsequent research. It then deals with the question
of the character of the Biblical text employed by the author as the basis of
his commentary, describes the character of the commentary itself, gives
further proofs that the Reichenau MS. represents the original contents of
the commentary, traces the origins of the various forms in which it appears,
and relates them through different MSS. ; and concludes with a study of the
authorities for the text of Cassiodorus' revision of Pelagius, of its character and
its Biblical Text, and of the authors used by Cassiodorus and his pupils in
its compilation. "Tentative Genealogical Tables" and three collotypes of
pages of manuscripts are given.
Nature Study Lessons. Seasonally arranged by J. B. PhiHp, M.A. Cam-
bridge: At the University Press, 1916.
This latest addition to the useful Cambridge Nature Study Series may be
warmly commended not only to teachers but to parents and all others
interested in giving children a reliable introduction to the observation and
study of natural processes. It has been designed for pupils from 11 or 1 2 to
14 in both primary and secondary schools. "Each chapter if studied in
detail contains enough for several lessons, and the course should keep
a class employed for a whole session even with more than one meeting a
week." " The chapters follow the annual cycle of the months, and as each
is independent of the others, a start may be made at any point and the circle
completed from it onwards." The following is a list of the chapters:
Autumn : The Plant and its Parts ; The Apple ; The Dispersal of Seeds.
Winter : The Cocoanut ; Crocus Corms ; A Cabbage. Spring : Causes of
Germination ; The Broad Bean ; Opening Buds. Summer : The Tulip,
Wallflower, The Dandelion. A list of the material required is prefixed
to each chapter, with a note of the quantity for a class of 24, and fuller
1 66 Aberdeen University Review
particulars are given in an appendix. There are also sets of questions and
exercises.
Twenty-Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Eth-
nology, 1 907- 1 908. Pp. 636.
Thirtieth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
1908-1909. Pp.453. Washington: Government Printing Office.
These two bulky volumes exhibit in a remarkable manner the elaborateness
and precision with which ethnographical work is prosecuted in the United
States, and the enormous amount of painstaking labour that is bestowed.
This is particularly observable in the first volume, which is wholly given up to
a memoir on the Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indians of New Mexico, by Mr,
John Peabody Harrington. It contains a most exhaustive examination of
Tewa place-names and their meaning, so detailed and minute as almost to be
repellent at first sight, but a little investigation reveals a wealth of interesting
matter, and one readily assents to the commendatory remark in the adminis-
trative report of the Bureau that the memoir is a contribution of great impor-
tance for the light it sheds on the concepts of the Tewa people. The second
volume contains two memoirs — one on the Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians
(also of New Mexico), by Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, and the other, " An Inquiry
into the Animism and Folk-lore of the Guiana Indians," by Dr. Walter E.
Roth, who has long been a resident of British Guiana and a student of its
aborigines. This latter memoir perhaps makes a more direct appeal to British
readers than the other two ; the " general reader " who is not an ethnologist
will certainly find it much more interesting and entertaining.
The Layman's Book of the General Assembly [Church of Scotland]
of 1 916. Edinburgh : J. Gardner Hitt. Pp. v + 164.
This handy little volume will be welcome to many. It is admirably edited
by Rev. Harry Smith, M.A. (of Aberdeen University), of Old Kirkpatrick,
editor of " Morning Rays *'. The reports and discussions in connection with
last Assembly have been sympathetically and succinctly treated from the lay-
man's view-point. Dr. John Brown (of whom an excellent portrait is given)
admirably filled the Moderator's chair, and in welcoming the Duke of Mon-
trose as Lord High Commissioner, recalled the fact that his ancestor, the
Earl of Montrose, had been Commissioner just 300 years before, while the
famous Marquis himself was a member of the General Assembly of 1638.
An interesting item of business was an appeal from a communicant in St.
Andrews Town Church against the practice of reciting the Apostles' Creed at
the Communion. The appeal was dismissed, but a good deal of sympathy
with it was expressed. Readers interested in Church matters will find much
valuable information in this handy volume, which should specially appeal to
elders.
We have received the " Oxford University Handbook " (Oxford : Claren-
don Press ; pp. 377), a supplement or companion to the annual " University
Calendar," giving the con(itions of admission and residence at the various
Reviews 167
colleges, the courses of study and examinations, and the facilities afforded for
special study and research, and for the study and training required by candi-
dates for the Army and other public services. There is, in addition, a mass
of information relating to the colleges, to scholarships and prizes, etc. ; and,
altogether, the Handbook seems exceedingly complete and calculated to
prove highly serviceable.
We have also received from the North of Scotland College of Agriculture
a number of valuable pamphlets, including "The Nicolson Observatory Bee-
Hive and how to use it," by John Anderson, M.A., B.Sc, Lecturer in Bee
Keeping ; as well as Leaflets on experiments undertaken by the staff of the
College. We had been promised a review of all these by Mr. Glegg,
Assistant in Agricultural Chemistry, but the promise has been frustrated by
his lamented death. In a future number we hope to give an article dealing
generally with the numerous and valuable publications of the staff of the
College.
Two volumes by graduates of Aberdeen are held over for full notices in
next number of the Review.
One is a valuable treatise, entitled " Indian Moral Instruction and Caste
Problems: Solutions by A. H. Benton, I.C.S. (retd.)". London :. Longmans,
Green & Co., 191 7. Mr. Benton graduated as Master of Arts in King's
College in i860, and passed for the Indian Civil Service in 1861 (see Vol. H
of the Review, p. 250). He has dedicated his work to his Alma Mater in
the following inscription : " Universitati Aberdonensi Almae Matri Cum Bona
Venia Opusculum Hocce Beneficiis Cumulatus Animo Gratissimo D. D. D.
Scriptor ".
The other is a remarkable novel of American life, "The Call of the
Bells," by Edmund Burke Milne Mitchell, M.A., 1881, whose previous works,
"Towards the Eternal Snows" and "Tales of Destiny," received the praise
of critics on both sides of the Atlantic.
In next number also we hope to review the striking memoir of J. K.
Forbes, M.A., 1905 (4th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, who was killed in
action in Flanders on 25th September, 1915), entitled "Student and Sniper-
Sergeant," by William Taylor, M.A., and Peter Diack, M.A. (London, etc.,
Hodder & Stoughton, 191 6), with a portrait.
University Topics.
GIFT OF A RARE COIN.
R. GEORGE BURNETT CURRIE (M.A., 1881 ; M.D.,
1896) of St. James' Avenue, Ealing, has presented to
the University a very rare Greek coin, of great value,
which was found in digging a kitchen garden at Mity-
lene twenty years ago, and came into his possession
when he was in practice at Belize, British Honduras.
It is a ticrrj (or sixth of a stater) of Cyzicus in Mysia.
The material is electrum. The late Mr. Barclay V.
Head of the British Museum dated it from the early part of the fifth century,
B.C. Dr. Burnett Currie has been informed by Messrs. Spink & Son, Numis-
matists, of Piccadilly, that in addition to this piece there are only four known
specimens, in Paris, Berlin, Munich, and another collection. There is none
in the British Museum. The coinage of Cyzicus began (according to Dr. Head ^)
" early in the fifth century if not before, and consists principally of staters and
hectae composed of electrum or pale gold ". Together with the Persian darics
they *' constituted the staple of the gold currency of the whole ancient world
until such time as they were both superseded by the gold staters of Philip and
Alexander the Great ". On the obverse of the specimen gifted by Dr. Currie
are the forepart of a bull (probably, according to Dr. Head, a magisterial signet
or a monetary type) in combination with a m^Xa/Avs or tunnyfish, the badge of
the city of Cyzicus. The reverse is an incuse square divided into four irregular
quarters, a pattern which is proof of the early date of the coin. The excellent
collection of Greek coins in the Museum at Marischal College, which has been
admirably arranged and catalogued by Professor Gilroy, is enriched by the
addition of so rare and valuable a specimen, and the thanks of the University
are due to Dr. Burnett Currie for his very generous gift. It is a distinction
to a collection to possess the only specimen of a coin extant in Great Britain.
GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM.
The annual report of the Museums Committee, recently presented to
the University Court, contained an interesting list of gifts made to the various
departments of the Museum during the past year. Among these may be
mentioned a human skull from Malekula, New Hebrides, presented by Lieu-
tenant-Colonel A. M. Rose, M.B., R.A.M.C. ; skull of gorilla, from Dr. R.
^ According to the second edition of Dr. Head's '♦ Historica Numorum," the coinage of
Cyzicus began in the seventh or sixth century before Christ. But as this coinage continued
ia currency till the time of Philip of Macedon, it is impossible to fix an exact date for the
specimen contributed by Dr. Burnett Currie.
University Topics 169
Semple, West African Medical Staff; Kafir skulls from Dr. Mehliss,
Rietfontein Hospital, Johannesburg ; embryological specimens from Pro-
fessor M'Kerron, Aberdeen ; Dr. Adam, Aberdeen ; Dr. W. M. Gray, Liver-
pool ; Dr. W. A. Watson, Norwich ; Dr. A. Hutton, Old Rayne ; Dr. A. G.
Gall, Aberdeen ; and Dr. J. Clark Bell, Aberdeen ; splinter from starboard
plate of H.M.S. " Onslow," perforated by a German shell in the battle of Horn
Reef, from Professor C. Sanford Terry, Aberdeen ; 304 silver coins (modern
European, belonging mostly to the sixteenth and nineteenth century), from
Rev. Professor Gilroy, D.D., University of Aberdeen ; collection of over 1000
specimens of minerals and rocks from Mr. J. T. Ewen, H.M.I.S., Aberdeen;
etc.
APPOINTMENT OF EXAMINERS.
The Court, at a meeting on 9 January, made the following appointments
of Examiners for the period from i February : —
English — Mr. William Soutar Mackie, M.A., Southampton, for two more
years.
French — Mr. Robert Lindsay Graeme Ritchie, M.A., D.Litt., University
Lecturer, 55 Falcon Road, Edinburgh, for four years,
German — Professor Robert A. Williams, M.A., Ph.D. (Leip.), Lit.D.
(Dub.), 5 2 Ulstervifle Avenue, Belfast, for four years.
Education — Mr. John Strong, M.A., Rector, Royal High School, Edin-
burgh, for three years.
History — Mr. William Law Mathieson, LL.D., 9 Wardie Avenue, Edin-
burgh, for three years.
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy — Mr. Adam Brand, M.A., 7 New
Square, Lincoln's Inn, London, for two more years.
Botany — Professor R. J. Harvey-Gibson, 18 Gambier Terrace, Liverpool,
for three years.
Zoology — Mr. Jas. F. Gemmill, University Lecturer in Embryology, 12
Ann Street, Hillhead, Glasgow, for two more years.
Chemistry — Professor George Gerald Henderson, D.Sc, LL.D., The
Royal Technical College, Glasgow, for three years.
Public Health and D.P.H.—Ux. John T. Wilson, M.D., Medical Officer
of Health for Lanarkshire, Hamilton, for three years.
Forensic Medicine — Mr. Robert A. Lyster, M.D., B.Sc, Medical Officer of
Health for Hampshire, Winchester, for three years.
^ Medicine — Mr. William MacLennan, M.D., Lecturer in Clinical Medicine
in the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, 2 Woodside Place, Glasgow, for three
years.
Midwifery — Mr. J. Lamond Lackie, M.D., Lecturer in Midwifery, etc.,
Edinburgh Medical School, for three years.
Agriculture, Agricultural Chemistry, and Veterinary Hygiene — Professor
R. S. Seton, Agricultural Department, The University, Leeds, for one year.
Forestry, Forest Botany, and Zoology — Mr. William Dawson, M.A., B.Sc.
(Ag.), School of Forestry, Cambridge, for one year.
Law — Mr. Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, M.A., LL.B., 7 India Street,
Edinburgh, for one year.
170 Aberdeen University Review
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE WAR.
Long lists of honours awarded for services in the war were published in
the early days of the new year, and these were supplemented by the com-
mendatory mention of numerous officers by Field- Marshal Sir Douglas Haig
in his dispatch describing the offensive on the Somme, which was published
at the same time. The names of many graduates and alumni of Aberdeen
University appear as having received distinctions and honourable mention ;
and among them are the following, although the list makes no pretensions to
being exhaustive, the difficulty of identification being very considerable : —
To be C.B.—
Colonel James Thomson, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1883; M.B., 1886).
The Distinguished Service Order has been awarded to —
Lieutenant-Colonel William Booth Skinner, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1887)
— British East African Field Force ; in command of the hospi-
tal at Nairobi, now moved to Dar-es-Salaam.
Major (temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) Robert Bruce, 7th Gordon
Highlanders (M.A., 1893 ; M.D.) — twice previously mentioned
in dispatches.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Hugh Allan Davidson,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1900).
Major (temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) Henry Frederick Lyall Grant,
R.A. (M.A., 1898).
"^ Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Charles William Profeit,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1893) — twice previously mentioned in dis-
patches.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Theodore Francis Ritchie,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1898).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Alexander Macgregor Rose,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1899) — previously mentioned in dispatches.
Captain Donald Olson Riddel, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1912).
The Military Cross has been awarded to —
Captain William Ainslie, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1897 ; M.D. ; F.R.C.S.).
Captain Austin Basil Clarke, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1915).
Captain William J. S. Ingram, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 191 2).
Captain William Lyall, 5th Gordon Highlanders (M.A., 1906).
Captain John Hay Moir, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1907 ; M.D.).
Captain Alexander Gordon Peter, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1898 ; M.B.,
1903 ; D.P.H. [Camb.]).
Captain Maurice Joseph Williamson, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1908) —
previously mentioned in dispatches.
Lieutenant (temporary Captain) John Lyon Booth, Seaforth High-
landers (M.A., 1 9 14).
Lieutenant (temporary Captain) James William Littlejohn, R.A.M.C.
(M.B., 1908; M.D.).
Lieutenant (temporary Captain) George R. W. Stewart, General
List, commanding Trench Mortar Battery (second year's medi-
cal student).
University Topics 171
Lieutenant Thomas James Gordon, R.E. (second year's medical
student).
Second Lieutenant William Bruce Anderson, Gordon Highlanders
(M.A., 1911).
Second Lieutenant James Macdonald Henderson, Gordon High-
landers (M.A., 191 2 ; Assistant Professor in English) — subse-
quently promoted Acting Captain.
Second Lieutenant Ronald Maclure Savege, 2nd Northumberland
Brigade, R.F.A. (medical student, 2nd year, 1 914- 15).
Second Lieutenant Harold A. Sinclair, Gordon Highlanders (M.A
1902).
Temporary Surgeon George Lee Ritchie, R.N. (M.B., 1914).
The Military Medal has been awarded to —
Lieutenant Benjamin Knowles, R.A.M.C. (attached to the i6th
Middlesex Regiment) (M.B., 1907).
Private Frank Emslie, Gordon Highlanders (M.A., 1906).
The following have been mentioned in dispatches —
Colonel Stuart Macdonald, C.M.G., R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1884)— third
mention.
Lieutenant- Colonel (temporary Colonel) Charles W. Profeit, D.S.O.
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1893)— third mention.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Dawson, D.S.O., 6th Gordon High-
landers (M.A., 1899) — third mention.
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Mackessack, R.A.M.C. (B.Sc, 1892
M.B., Ch.B., 1896). [He was the first to receive from the
University the degree of Bachelor of Surgery (Ch.B.), which
was substituted for that of Master in Surgery (CM.), as the
junior surgical degree to be taken with that of Bachelor of
Medicine.]
Lieutenant-Colonel James Thomson, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1883 ; M.B.,
1886) — subsequently promoted Colonel.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Robert Bruce, D.S.O., 7th
Gordon Highlanders (M.A., 1893 ; M.D.) — third mention.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) H. A. Davidson, D.S.O.,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1900).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) James Galloway, serving as
a consultant surgeon with the Forces (M.A., 1883 ; M.B., 1886 ;
M.D. ; F.R.C.S.).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Henry M. W. Gray, C.B.,
serving as a consultant surgeon with the Forces (M.B., 1895 ;
F.R.C.S.) — second mention.
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) William Rae, D.S.O., i6th
Battalion, 3rd Brigade, ist Canadian Expeditionary Force
(M.A., 1903; B.L.).
Major (temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) Theodore F. Ritchie, D.S.O.,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1898).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel), A. Macgregor Rose, D.S.O.,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1899) — second mention.
172 Aberdeen University Review
Major (temporary Lieutenant- Colonel) George A. Smith, D.S.O.,
4th Gordon Highlanders [attached to the 8th King's Own
(Royal Lancaster) Regiment], (law-student, 1887-88) — second
mention.
Major James A. Butchart, D.S.O., 91st Brigade, R.F.A. (alumnus).
Captain (temporary Major) Eric W. H. Brander, Gordon High-
landers (M.A., 1910; LL.B., 1911).
Captain Harry O'Brian Brooke, Gordon Highlanders (student in
agriculture, 1906-07) — died of wounds received in action.
Captain James Lawson, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1878; M.B., 1881).
Captain J. Ellis Milne, D.S.O., R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1888; M.B.,
1891 ; M.D.).
Captain (temporary) James Ettershank Gordon Thomson, R.A.M.C.
(T.F.) (M.B., 1907).
Lieutenant Henry Hargrave Cowan, ist Highland Brigade, R.F.A.
(former student).
Lieutenant George Grant Macdonald, R.E. (B.Sc. Agr., 1909).
Second Lieutenant William Taylor, Gordon Highlanders (M.A.,
1913)-
Second Lieutenant (temporary) George Harper Macdonald, Gordon
Highlanders (M.A., 1908) — killed in action.
Temporary Lieutenant Alfred Paul Hart, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1879).
[Formerly in the Army Medical Service, he retired with the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1902 ; but rejoined in the spring of
1 91 5 and was granted the rank of temporary lieutenant a year
ago.]
The D.S.O. has been conferred on 8 University men ; the Military Cross
awarded to 16, and the Military Medal to 2 ; and 24 are mentioned in dis-
patches— a total of 50, which, however, includes those on whom distinctions
were conferred. This total, of course, is irrespective of previous awards,
recorded in former numbers of the Review.
Captain Donald O. Riddell (M.B., 191 2), who is mentioned above as a
recipient of the D.S.O., has been awarded by the King of Montenegro the
Silver Medal for bravery.
The King of Montenegro has also bestowed the Order of Danilo on
Lieutenant-Colonel James Dawson, D.S.O. (M.A., 1899).
The names of many University men appear in the lists of promotions in
military rank which have been recently published. Among them is Major
Farquhar M'Lennan, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1898), promoted Brevet Lieutenant-
Colonel.
As an example of the multifarious services which so many graduates are
rendering in what is now generally termed "war work,'* it may be mentioned
that Professor R. J. Harvey- Gibson, of Liverpool University (M.A., 1880),
in addition to being Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the University Officers
Training Corps, is Paymaster of the West Lancashire Territorial Force Associa-
tion, Secretary and Treasurer of the Nursing Service Committee of the Military
Hospitals in Liverpool, a member of the War Pensions Committee for the City
of Liverpool, and a member of several other Committees, municipal and other-
wise, connected with war work.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Collie (M.B., 1882) has consented to take
charge of an organization promoted by the Joint War Committee of the British
University Topics 173
Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John, for the equipment and upkeep
of a suitable institution for the treatment of war-shaken men, discharged from
the Army because of neurasthenia or nervous breakdown.
Major Francis Grant Ogilvie, C.B. (M.A., 1879; B.Sc. [Edin.]; LL.D.
[Edin.]), late Major R.E. (T.F.), has been appointed temporary Major while
employed as an assistant director at the War Office.
Dr. John Alexander Mackenzie (M.A., 1899; M.B.), Woodthorpe, Padi-
ham, Lancashire, is at present on military service as surgeon at Queen Mary's
Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancashire.
Captain Thomas Burtonshaw Nicholls, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1908) has been
appointed to the command of the 50th Field Ambulance, with the temporary
rank of Major. He has been serving at the front for the past two years.
Dr. Alexander Graham Stewart (M.B., 1907) is medical officer in charge
of the Auxiliary Military Hospital at Margate, under the British Red Cross
Society. Dr. Stewart gained the Hunterian Medal in 191 2, the subject of
the essay being " Arterio-Sclerosis and Hyperpiesis ".
Dr. John N. Farquhar, the well-known writer on Indian religions, and
Literary Secretary for the Y.M.C.A. in India (see p. 76), is among the scholars
and University men who have gone out to France to deliver lectures in the
Y.M.C.A. huts. Dr. Farquhar took as the subject of his lectures, " Britain
and India," with special reference to the religious beliefs and ideals, and
future of India. Professor Findlay, of Aberystwyth University College (M.A.,
1895), has also been in France delivering a series of lectures on Chemistry.
Rev. William Walker Cruickshank (M.A., 1901 ; B.D.), incumbent of
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Keith, Banffshire, has resigned his charge,
having been appointed an Army chaplain for the duration of the war.
Rev. Christian V. A. M Echern (M.A., 1907) has been appointed a
chaplain to the forces at Malta.
Rev. George Tod Wright (M.A., 19 13; B.D., 191 5) has resigned the
assistantship at St. Michael's, Dumfries, in order to take up work in one of
the Scottish Churches huts in France.
Among the passengers of the S.S. " City of Birmingham," of the EUer-
man line, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on 28
November, were Captain William S. Trail, 57 th (Wilde's) Rifles, India
(alumnus, 1901-03), son of Professor Trail ; and Cadet Charles Hendrick, son
of Professor Hendrick. All the passengers were saved.
Miss Mabel Hector (M.B., 1 911), daughter of Rev. Dr. John Hector,
Aberdeen (late of Calcutta), is at work among the soldiers at Malta.
The following graduates of the University, after serving as temporary
Captains or as Captains in the Special Reserve, R.A.M.C., have been gazetted
in the R.A.M.C. Regular Forces, as Lieutenants with rank as Temporary
Captains : —
Gavin Alex. Elsmlie Argo (formerly tempy. Capt.) (M.B., 191 3).
Alex. Lindsay Aymer (formerly tempy. Capt.) (M.B., 19 13).
Hamish Douglas Ferguson Brand (formerly tempy. Capt.) (M.B.,
1913)-
Douglas Gordon Cheyne (formerly tempy. Capt.) (M.B., 1910;
M.D.).
Rudolf Wm. Galloway (formerly tempy. Capt.) M.C. (M.B., 1914).
Robert Boulton Myles (formerly Capt. S.R.) (M.B., 19 15).
Alex. Lawrence Robb (formerly Capt. S.R.) (M.B., 1913).
174 Aberdeen University Review
We append a summary of the Roll of Members and officials of the
University on Naval and Military service as at the beginning of February,
191 7, before the New Army Order came into force, calling up all men over
18 years of age, by the 15th of the month. As soon as this Order was
announced representation was made by the University to the Recruiting
Authorities of the great disadvantage to students of over 18 years being
called up before the close of the term in March and the examinations then
for which they had been preparing. The Recruiting Officer agreed to allow
all students of whatever faculty to finish the term and sit their examinations
in March, who undertook, upon this concession, not to appeal for exemption
to the Tribunals but to join the colours as soon as the March examinations
were over. Some forty students have accepted these conditions and signed
the undertaking. If they are then accepted, their names will appear in the
Second Supplement to the Roll of Service (191 6- 17) which will be published
with the next number of the Review.
SUMMARY OF THE ROLL OF GRADUATES, ALUMNI, STUDENTS, AND
STAFF ON NAVAL AND MILITARY SERVICE.
I. Members of the staff not Graduates of this University . . 17
II. Graduates Commissioned :
Royal Navy Medical Service (including 5 civilians) . . 44
Regular Army, incl. S.R.O. and temporary commissions . 77
„ „ R.A.M.C., including S.R.O. and temporary
commissions 422
Territorial Force 184
„ R.A.M.C 198
Volunteer Force 4
Indian Army, including Reserve of Officers and Volunteers 12
„ „ Medical Service 41
Overseas Forces 13
„ ,, Medical Officers 48
Army Chaplains Department 46
Total of Graduates Commissioned 1089
Graduates enlisted 229
„ In the Volunteer Force (only partly known) . . 23
„ Serving as Red Cross Orderlies or Dressers . . 3
„ On Y.M.C.A. Service to Troops .... 4
Total of Grraduates Enlisted 259
Total of Graduates on Naval or Military Service 1348
To those add Graduates in charge of Red Cross Military Hos-
pitals 33
III. Alumni (Non-Graduates) Commd. (incl. 11 Meds. and i Chapl.) 85
„ „ Enlisted 67
„ „ as Medical Orderlies, etc. . . 3
Total of Alumni on Service 155
IV. Students Commissioned 148
„ Enlisted 350
„ Serving as Dressers, etc 10
Total of Students on Service 508
Total of Members of University and Alumni on Service 2061
Add those about to matriculate (so far as known) ... 32
„ Sacrist and University Servants on Service ... 17
V. Aberdeen University O.T.C 97
Total on Service 2207
The Roll of those who have fallen in action or died of disease or gone
down with their ships now amounts to 1 40.
University Topics 175
THE FORESTRY DEPARTMENT.
We hope to give in a future number an article on the Forestry Depart-
ment carried on by the University and the North of Scotland College of Agri-
culture. New premises for the Department have been completed in Marischal
College, contiguous to the Department of Botany. They consist of a class-
room, laboratories for study and research, a Forestry Museum, a dark room,
and a glass-house for culture and infectional purposes. The Forestry Garden
at Craibstone is already far advanced. There is a fine nursery of young
plants ; and while a large proportion of the timber on the estate has been
sold for a considerable amount, which will be reserved for Forestry, the rest
has been preserved and arranged for the educational purposes of the Depart-
ment. The planning of the Forest Garden, which is due to Mr. Peter Leslie,
M.A., B.Sc, and B.Sc. (Agr.), the Lecturer on Forestry, has been carried out
by him in consultation with the successive Conveners of the College's Com-
mittee on Forestry, Mr. Gammell of Countesswells, and, since his departure
on war service. Sir John Fleming, LL.D. The Forestry rooms in Marischal
College and the Forest Garden have received the warm approval of so dis-
tinguished an expert on the subject as Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Bart., who
at the close of his lecture on " Afforestation " to the Aberdeen Branch of the
Royal Scottish Geographical Society on the 31st January, said that "Aberdeen
was the natural centre of Forestry education in Scotland, and the way in which
Forestry had been treated in the University had been a great encouragement
to all who were interested in the development of scientific Forestry in Great
Britain ". It may be added that Mr. Peter Leslie, the Lecturer on Forestry,
continues to act with Mr. Brown as scientific adviser for this area to the
Board of Agriculture ; and is occupied with the official survey of the timber
within the area. Mr. Watt, the Lecturer on Forest Botany and Entomology,
has been called up on service and is now in France. Professor Trail has
kindly undertaken such of his work as is necessary for the curriculum of the
University's new degree in Forestry. But in the meantime the war has almost
wholly deprived the department of students. Everything, however, is in ex-
istence for the full development of the subject as soon as the war is over.
Personalia.
The Council of the Royal Society has awarded a Royal Medal to Professor
Macdonald, F.R.S., for his contributions to mathematical physics. " Professor
Macdonald " (said a recent notice in " Nature ") " has been engaged continu-
ously in original research for the last twenty-five years, and in that time has
produced many notable memoirs and one remarkable book (' Electric Waves/
Cambridge, 1902). His work extends over a wide range : hydrodynamics,
elasticity, electricity, and optics, and branches of pure mathematical analysis
which have applications to these subjects, especially the theory of Bessel's
functions. Among the papers of more distinctly physical character, perhaps
the most important are the series of papers treating of the theory of diffraction,
and especially the diffraction of electric waves by a large spherical obstacle,
a problem which is of special importance in connection with the theory of the
transmission over the earth's surface of the waves utilized in wireless telegraphy.
He was the first mathematician to attack this problem, and also the first to
obtain the correct solution. The interval between the first attack and the final
conclusion was about eleven years (1903-14), and the discussion which took
place in the meantime attracted contributions from some of the most emin-
ent mathematicians of the day, including such authorities as Lord Rayleigh
and the late Henri Poincare."
Rev. Dr. James Brebner (M.A., King's College, 1859; D.D., 1908),
senior minister of the parish of Forgue, Aberdeenshire, who now resides at
Grandholm Villa, Woodside, Aberdeen, was recently waited upon by a de-
putation from Forgue and presented with several gifts on the occasion of his
retirement (see p. 74).
Rev. Walter James Robert Calder (M.A., 1904), Kingswells United Free
Church, has received a unanimous call to the Church at Kemnay, Aberdeen-
shire.
Since publishing the interesting introduction to Horace which was
reviewed in our last volume, Mr. J. B. Chapman, Classical Master in Airdrie
Academy, has edited for Messrs. George G. Harrap & Co. (for use in English
Schools) a comprehensive '* History of the Ancient World''. This work,
which is written by Professor Hutton Webster of Nebraska University, has a
large circulation in America.
Rev. James Cooper, D.D., Professor of Church History in Glasgow Uni-
versity, is to be nominated for the Moderatorship of the General Assembly of
Personalia
177
the Church of Scotland in May next. Dr. Cooper, who is a native of Elgin,
graduated at Aberdeen University in 1867, with honours in Classics, and sub-
sequently studied Divinity. He was ordained in 1873, was for eight years
minister of St. Stephen's, Broughty-Ferry ; became minister of the East Parish,
Aberdeen, in 1881 ; and occupied that position till 1898, when he was ap-
pointed to the Chair he now occupies in Glasgow University. In 1892 he
received the degree of D.D. from his Alma Mater, being the youngest alumnus
of the University upon whom the degree had been conferred. He also holds
the degrees of Litt.D. (Dublin) and D.C.L. (Durham). Dr. Cooper was one
of the founders of the Aberdeen Ecclesiological Society and has contributed
extensively to its Transactions and the Transactions of the Scottish Society
with which it is now incorporated. He has been three times President of the
Scottish Ecclesiological Society, and is editor of the " Transactions ". He also
wrote largely for the " Dictionary of National Biography," and has published
many sermons. His principal work, however, is "The Chartulary of the
Church of St. Nicholas,'^ in two volumes, which he edited for the New Spalding
Club. Professor Cooper was appointed Croall Lecturer for 191 6- 17, and
recently delivered his lectures, the subject being "The Doctrine of the Holy
and Undivided Trinity, as revealed in Scripture and Confessed by the Church
of God ". The Council of St. Paul's Ecclesiological Society has just elected
Professor Cooper an honorary member of the society, in recognition of his
thirty years' work in connection with ecclesiology in Scotland.
Sir James Mackenzie Davidson (M.B., 1882) has published an important
volume dealing with "Localization by X-rays and Stereoscopy ". He was
one of the first men in this country to take up X-ray work. Roentgen
published his discovery in 1895, and Sir James Mackenzie Davidson, then
residing in Aberdeen, visited Roentgen in 1896 and saw his methods. From
that time onward he devoted himself to the subject, and the development of
X-ray practice in this country largely rests upon the foundations laid by Sir
James Mackenzie Davidson.
Rev. Principal Forsyth has just published " The Justification of God :
Lectures for War Time on a Christian Theodicy " — one of the volumes in
Messrs. Duckworth's series of " Studies in Theology ".
The Very Rev. Provost George Grub has accepted the incumbency of
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Aberfoyle. He is the eldest son of the late
Dr. George Grub, Professor of Law in Aberdeen University, and was for some
time a student in Arts and Law. Dedicating himself, however, to the
ministry of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Mr. Grub was ordained deacon
and priest in 1871, and was incumbent of St. James' Church, Stonehaven,
from 1880 till 1890. He was aiterwards appointed Provost of St. Ninian's
Cathedral, Perth, but unfortunately developed a voice trouble which com-
pelled him to resign.
Professor Matthew Hay's term of office as Assessor for the Senatus to the
University Court having expired, he has been reappointed for a further term of
four years.
12
1 78 Aberdeen University Review
Rev. Edward Charles Houlston (B.D., 1902), minister of St. Leonard's
Church, Dunfermline, has received a call to St. Serfs Church, Leith.
Rev. David Porter Howie (M.A., 1909), assistant, St. George's Church,
Edinburgh, elder son of Rev. Robert Howie, minister of the parish of Enzie,
Banffshire, has been elected minister of the Laigh Church (second charge),
Kilmarnock. About the same time, he received the largest vote in the
election of an assistant and successor to Rev. Dr. Brebner, Forgue, Aber-
deenshire ; but not having a clear majority over the other candidates, a second
election became necessary.
Professor Jack contributes the chapter on " The Brontes " to Vol. XIII
of the ** Cambridge History of English Literature," and Professor Grierson the
one on "The Tennysons". The concluding chapter of this monumental
work (in Vol. XIV) — "Changes in the Language since Shakespeare's Time "
— is contributed by Mr. William Murison, of the Grammar School (M.A.,
1884).
Professor Arthur Keith (M.B., 1888; LL.D., r9ii), London, delivered
the recent course of Christmas lectures to children at the Royal Institution,
his subject being ** The Human Machine, which all must Work ".
Rev. James Lumsden (M.A., 1884 ; B.D.), minister of the Tolbooth
Church, Edinburgh, has been elected minister of the parish of Ratho, Mid-
lothian. Mr. Lumsden was formerly minister of Grange, Banffshire.
Mr. Pittendrigh Macgillivray, R.S.A. (LL.D., 1909), a native of Port-
Elphinstone, Aberdeenshire, is the sculptor of the Gladstone Memorial Statue
recently erected in St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgh.
A sketch of the career of Mr. Alexander Morrice Mackay (M.A., 1895 ;
B.A. [Camb.], 1898; LL.B. [Edin.], 1902) appears in the "Scots Law
Times ". Mr. Mackay became a member of the Faculty of Advocates in
1902, and the "Scots Law Times" says — "It was not long before he made
his mark at the Bar, and he has gone on steadily consolidating and increasing
an all-round practice which has won him a well-recognized position as one of
the leading juniors ".
Rev. Francis McHardy (M.A., 1897 ; B.D.), minister of the parish of
Midmar, Aberdeenshire, has been elected minister of the parish of Monqu-
hitter, Aberdeenshire.
Sir James Meston, K.C.S.I. (LL.D., 1913), Lieutenant-Governor of the
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, has been selected to assist the Secretary
of State for India at the forthcoming meeting of the Imperial War Council.
Mr. Daniel George Miller (M.A., 1873), who has been for thirty-four years
Lecturer in English and Classics at the Church of Scotland Training College,
Glasgow (now a Provincial Training Centre), has retired under the Govern-
Personalia 179
mental age regulations, and has settled in Stonehaven. Prior to going to
Glasgow in 1882, he was for eight years and a half headmaster of the public
school at Aberlour, Banffshire, gaining for his school the highest grant then
paid by the Dick Bequest Trustees.
Mr. William Mitchell (M.A., 1893 ; LL.B. [Edin.], 1896) has been
appointed an Advocate Depute. He was originally appointed in 191 3 and
held the position till the advent of the CoaHtion Government, when he be-
came Extra Advocate Depute on the Western Circuit. He has now been
promoted to full rank. Mr. Mitchell, who was Vans Dunlop Scholar in Scots
Law and Conveyancing in Edinburgh University, was called to the Scottish
Bar in 1897. He has acted as Examiner in Law in Aberdeen University, and
as Examiner in Medical Jurisprudence in Edinburgh University. He is a
native of Keith.
Rev. George Reith (M.A., 1861; D.D., 1892) celebrated the attainment
of his ministerial jubilee early in November last. He was inducted to the
charge of the College Free Church (now College and Kelvingrove United Free
Church), Glasgow, on 30 October, 1866, and retired in 1909. He was
Moderator of the General Assembly of his Church in 19 14. At a social
meeting held to mark the occasion, Dr. Reith was presented on behalf of the
congregation with his portrait in oils, along with securities for a substantial
sum. Sir George Adam Smith, who was present, conveyed congratulations
from Dr. Reith's Alma Mater, the University of Aberdeen.
Dr. James Ritchie (M.A., 1904; D.Sc), on resigning the Secretaryship
of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh and the Editorship of the Society's
" Journal of Zoological Research " — posts to which he was appointed five years
ago — has been elected a Vice-President of the Society.
Rev. Thomas Bremner Robertson (M.A., 1906), assistant, Newhills
United Free Church, has been elected minister of Bainsford United Free
Church, Falkirk.
In connection with the conferment of the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal on Rev.
Dr. William Skinner, Principal of the Madras Christian College (see p. 79), a
gathering was recently held at the College, at which congratulations were ex-
tended to Dr. Skinner. He was presented with an address from old students,
the address being enclosed in a silver casket ; and a gift of 1500 rupees was
intimated from Mr. Hamed Badshah, for the purpose of instituting a gold
medal in the name of Dr. Skinner, to be awarded to the best student of the
College.
Dr. Skinner is one of a distinguished family, and a brother of Provost
Skinner, Inverurie. One brother, David Skinner, was first bursar at
Aberdeen University in 187 1 ; he took first-class honours in Classics in 1875,
and he graduated M.B., CM., with highest honours in 1879. He is now in
practice at Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Another brother is Principal
John Skinner, of Westminster College, Cambridge. He was first bursar at
Aberdeen, like his brother, in 1873, and he graduated with first-class honours
in Mathematics in 1876. Dr. William Skinner of Madras took a high place
i8o Aberdeen University Review
in the Bursary List in 1876, and graduated with first-class honours in Classics
and Mental Philosophy in 1880, receiving the Town Council Gold Medal as
the most distinguished scholar of the year. He was one of three brilliant
classical students of the day at Aberdeen, the others being the late James
Adam, of Cambridge, and Dr. George Smith, of the Aberdeen Training
Centre. Dr. Skinner became Principal of Madras Christian College in suc-
cession to Dr. Charles Cooper, who succeeded Dr. William Miller, CLE.
Both these men were Aberdeen University graduates. The name Madras
Christian College was given to the Free Church Institution, Madras, in 1877,
when the institution was made inter-denominational.
Mr. William Duncan Vivian Slesser (M.A., 1908), Superintendent of
Mounted Police at Bannu, North- West Frontier Province, India (see Vol.
Ill, 269), has received a commission as Second Lieutenant in the Cavalry
Branch Reserve of Ofificers, Indian Army, and is at present attached to the
Zhob Militia, Fort Sandeman, Beluchistan.
Dr. Stephen Gait Trail, of Fraserburgh (M.B., 1910), who was wounded
while on service in France, has received a Government appointment in the
Samoan Islands.
Rev. William Spence Urquhart (M.A., 1897 ; B.D., D.Phil.) is acting as
Principal of the Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, in place of Rev. John
Watt (M.A., 1884 ; D.D.), who has just arrived home on furlough.
Mr. Carrick Wardhaugh (M.A., 1896), teacher, Moray Villa, Cardross,
Dumbartonshire, won the Chess Championship of Scotland at the Annual
Tourney held at Glasgow at the New Year, 1915 ; and, as there has been no
competition since, he still holds the Championship Cup and the title.
Mr. George Watt, K.C. (M.A., 1874), who has been Sheriff of Chancery
since 1905, has been appointed Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin, and Nairn. He
was called to the Scottish Bar in 1878, and became a Q.C. in 1900. Mr.
Watt, who is a native of Macduff (brother of the late Mr. Alexander Watt,
solicitor, Banff), unsuccessfully contested Banffshire as a Unionist candidate
in 1900.
Rev. Dr. Alexander Whyte, Principal of the New College, Edinburgh
(M.A., 1862; D.D. [Edin.], 1881), recently celebrated his ministerial jubilee,
having been appointed minister of St. John's Free Church, Glasgow, in 1866.
Four years later, he became minister of St. George's Free Church (afterwards
United Free Church), Edinburgh, and held this charge for thirty-nine years —
until 1909, when he was appointed Principal of the New College. On 27
December a deputation from the Edinburgh Presbytery of the United Free
Church, consisting of Rev. Professor Martin, Rev. Dr. R. S. Simpson, Rev.
Dr. R. J. Drummond, and Mr. James A. Henderson, waited on Dr. Whyte,
and presented him with an address of congratulation, which concluded as
follows : —
We address you, sir, as a member of our Presbytery, and we know that the Scottish
Church, and that branch of it which is specially dear to us, has no more loyal son than
Personalia 1 8 1
you. But we are conscious that the Catholic Church has the right to claim you. You
have taken to your hospitable mind, and you have given to others, treasures from the
Greek Church, the Latin Church, and from all branches of the Reformed Church. You
have impressed on us that only •' with all saints " can we " know the love of Christ," and,
fascinating as you have shown the intellectual world to be, and wonderful the spiritual
world, you have shown us supremely by the pure beauty of the light that the greatest of all
things is charity. And we offer to you now, with honour, our homage of reverence and
gratitude and personal devotion.
Miss Ella Gumming (M.A., 1909) has been appointed Modem Languages
Assistant in Dalziel School, Motherwell.
Miss Mary Paton Ramsay (M.A., 1908), daughter of Emeritus Professor
Sir W. M. Ramsay, has passed her examination at the Sorbonne, Paris, for
the degree of Doctor in Philosophy, with brilliant success. At the conclusion
of the examination, she was warmly congratulated by the jury.
Miss Annie Cameron Ross (M.A., 191 1) is now English mistress in Dur-
ness Higher Grade School, Sutherlandshire.
A correspondent of the ''Aberdeen Daily Journal " recently, in answer to
a query, furnished some particulars of the career of Dr. Gharles Smart, an
Aberdeen graduate (M.B., 1892), who rose to be a general in the U.S.
Army, obtained from the "Military Surgeon," an American publication,
issued in 1905. Immediately after graduating. Dr. Smart went to New York
and entered the military service as ist Lieutenant and Assistant Surgeon of
the 63rd Infantry of New York. He served with that organization until he
was commissioned in the U.S. Army in March, 1864. In December, 1864,
he was promoted Brevet Gaptain " for meritorious services in the field during
the campaign before Richmond, Va." Subsequently he passed through the
grades of Gaptain (1886), Major (1892), Lieut. -Golonel (1897), and Golonel
and Assistant Surgeon- General (1901), and retired with the rank of Brigadier-
General in 1905. After the close of the Givil War he had charge of various
'fortresses until 1879, when he was ordered to Washington, D.G., where he
served in various capacities, among them Professor of Hygiene in the Army
Medical School, being for a time president of the school. He was on special
detail to Memphis, Tenn., while that city was stricken with yellow fever in
1878, and was inspector of various camps in 1898. Brigadier- General Smart
was a member of various boards, including those dealing with the admission
of candidates into the Medical Corps, the preparation of H.C. drill, the
manual for the Medical Department, and the emergency ration. He com-
piled and published "A Hand-book for the Hospital Corps" (1898), which
was used for years as a text-book on the subject. He contributed articles on
air, malaria, miasma, quarantine, water, army field hospital organization, etc.,
for medical encyclopaedic works ; and he represented the U.S. medical de-
partment at various meetings of medical bodies. While serving as Chief
Surgeon of Divisions in the Philippines, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage
(1904), necessitating his return to the United States. He died at St. Augus-
tine, Florida, 23 April, 1905.
Obituary.
The most outstanding personality among those of our graduates who have
passed away since our last issue was the Right Reverend Anthony Mitchell,
Bishop of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney, who died at the Episcopal
residence, Bishop's Court, Albyn Place, Aberdeen, on 17 January, at the
comparatively early age of forty- eight. An appreciation of him appears else-
where, and we content ourselves here with recording the principal facts in his
life.
Bishop Mitchell, though born in Aberdeen in 1868, was the son of parents
belonging to the Inverurie district. After leaving school he was for a short
time engaged in business, but he became a pupil of the Aberdeen Grammar
School, leaving it as dux to enter Aberdeen University. Here he had a dis-
tinguished career, being a brilliant classical student. He gained the Jenkyns
Prize for Classical Philology in 1889, and graduated in the following year
with first-class honours, winning at the same time the Black Prize and the
Seafield Medal for Latin. He also carried off the Blackwell Essay Prize in
1 893. Entering the Edinburgh Theological College of the Scottish Episcopal
Church in 1891, he " swept the boards " of everything that could be taken in
the way of bursary and scholarship ; and he rounded off his education in
Divinity by taking the B.D. degree at Aberdeen University some ten years
later — in 1 903 — with the rare distinction of honours in all the subjects.
He was ordained by the Bishop of Edinburgh deacon in 1892 and priest
in 1893 ; and his ministerial career began by his being appointed curate of
the Mission of the Good Shepherd, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, in connection
with St. Mary's Cathedral, combining with the duties of the charge the post
of Hebrew Lecturer in the Theological College. He was for two years assist-
ant curate at St. John's Church, Dumfries, and then assumed the work of
building up afresh the old charge of St. Andrew's, Glasgow, specially identi-
fying himself with home mission work. In 1902 he became Diocesan
Missioner of Glasgow and Galloway, and in 1904 was appointed Rector of St.
Mark's, Portobello. A year later he was chosen by the College of Bishops to
succeed Dr. Maclean, appointed Bishop of Moray and Ross, as Principal and
Professor of Theology in the Edinburgh Theological College ; and by his in-
tellectual ability and spiritual influence he proved himself one of the most
successful Principals that ever presided over that institution.
In January, 191 2, Principal Mitchell (who was also a Canon of St. Mary's
Cathedral) was unanimously elected Bishop of the Diocese of Aberdeen and
Orkney, in succession to the late Dr. Rowland Ellis ; and since his death
abundant testimony has been given of his success as the ruler of the Diocese
and of the personal esteem in which he was regarded, not only by the
members of his own communion but by those of other denominations, and by
Obituary 183
the citizens of Aberdeen generally. A conspicuous feature of his brief occu-
pancy of the Bishopric was the institution, in February, 19 14, of a Cathedral
Church in the Diocese (St. Andrew's, Aberdeen). In 191 3- 14 Bishop
Mitchell visited America and delivered a series of Hale Lectures on Scottish
Church History at St. Paul's Church, Chicago. During his visit he preached
in Holy Trinity Church, Boston, from the historic pulpit of Phillips Brooks ;
and he also preached at Berkeley, Connecticut, conducting the Communion
service in the Chapel of the Berkeley Divinity School, which is associ-
ated with the name of Bishop Seabury (see Vol. H, 79). The Hale
Lectures were subsequently published under the title of " Biographical Studies
in Scottish Church History " (reviewed in Vol. HI). The Bishop was also
the author of ''History of the Episcopal Church in Scotland" (1907) and
"Story of the Church in Scotland" (1908), and of a small volume of verse
written when he was a student — " Tatters from a Student's Gown" (1890).
The funeral of the late Bishop was attended by one of the largest and
most representative assemblages in Aberdeen of recent years. " Memories
and an Appreciation " by the Rev. Canon Perry (with a portrait), appear in
another part of this number.
Mr. George Anderson (alumnus, Marischal College, 1856-57) died at
Nethermill, Cruden, Aberdeenshire, on 25 December, aged seventy-six. He
was the eldest son of Mr. George Anderson, Ward, Slains, and was the oldest
representative of a once well-known Slains family. He went to Ceylon in
1858, travelling across the Egyptian Desert by camel, the Suez Canal not then
being in existence. After being engaged in coffee-planting in Ceylon for
thirteen years, he went to Travancore, in India, where he opened up large
properties for the Scottish India Company of Inverness, in addition to owning
several properties of his own. He retired in 1891.
Mr. John Barclay Barclay (alumnus, 1873-77) died at his resi-
dence, 38 Fountainhall Road, Aberdeen, on 3 December, aged sixty- one.
He had been a member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen since 1882,
and had a large and important business ; and he was a Justice of the Peace
for the county of the city of Aberdeen. He was married to a sister of the
late Professor Minto.
Dr. William Christie Crowe (M.B., CM., 1887) died at his residence,
12 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, on 21 November, aged sixty-four. On securing a
Town Council bursary at the Aberdeen Grammar School, he studied at the
University for three years. He studied subsequently at the English Presby-
terian Theological College, London, having gained a competitive bursary, and
on the completion of his course, he was licensed as a minister by the London
Presbytery in 1878. He assisted Rev. Andrew Wilson, Wark, Newcastle-on-
Tyne. In 1879, on the retirement of the minister, Dr. Crowe received a call
from the congregation, but declined to accept. Towards the close of 1880 he
began the study of Medicine at Aberdeen University, and graduated M.B.,
CM. For a year he assisted Dr. Orando Prankerd, medical superintendent
of the Barnardo Homes, London. He then returned to Aberdeen, and soon
built up an excellent practice.
184 Aberdeen University Review
Mr. Robert Easton (M.A., 1883) died at Denver, Colorado, United
States, on 16 January, aged fifty-two. He graduated with first-class honours in
Classics and second-class honours in Mental Philosophy, and for some time
he was assistant Professor of Humanity. He emigrated to America many
years ago, and became teacher at the Culver Military Academy, Marmont,
Indiana. Latterly he had been resident in Chicago.
Rev. Alexander Fridge (M.A., 186 1) died at his residence. Hermitage,
Gowans Street, Arbroath, on 14 January, aged seventy-five. On being
licensed, he for a time acted as assistant in Montrose, but in 1867 he was ap-
pointed minister of the parish of Lunan, in Forfarshire, and held the charge
for nearly forty, years, retiring in 1906. He was a native of Forres.
Mr. Robert Glegg (B.Sc, 1898; F.I.C.) died at a nursing home in
Aberdeen on 17 December, aged fifty-one. After graduating B.Sc. with
honours, he became private assistant to Professor Hendrick, of the Agricul-
tural Department. He sat the examinations of the Institute of Chemistry
while still in Aberdeen, and became a Fellow of the Institute. A few
years later he received an important position as an analytical chemist in
Liverpool with Professor Campbell Brown and Mr. Collingwood Williams.
He returned to Aberdeen in 1904 as Assistant Lecturer in Agricultural
Chemistry to Professor Hendrick on the staff of the North of Scotland College
of Agriculture, and in 1905 also became University assistant. He was a man
of considerable intellectual ability and as an analytical chemist was recognized
by professional colleagues as occupying the highest standing. He took a
prominent part in the formation of the Agricultural Discussion Society and
was its first secretary. Mr. Glegg had been in feeble health for some time,
and in the early part of last year got leave of absence for several months. He
returned to his duties at the University at the beginning of the winter session,
but had a relapse and died as stated from a complication of diseases. He
was a son of the late Mr. James Glegg, farmer. Middle Touchs, Dunnottar,
Kincardineshire.
Mr. Robert Gray (M.A., Marischal College, 1853) died at his residence,
Bel-Air, Banchory-Devenick, Kincardineshire, on 8 December, aged eighty-
seven. He was appointed schoolmaster of the parish of Banchory-Devenick
orh the last day of 1863, and is said to have been perhaps the first Scottish
parochial schoolmaster who was a Free Churchman. For the eight years
prior to his appointment he taught in Mr. Thomson's private school adjoining
Banchory-Devenick Free Church. He continued parish schoolmaster till the
summer of 1887, when failing health compelled him, very reluctantly, to retire
on a pension. He acted for many years as registrar of the parish, and was a
very active office-bearer in Banchory-Devenick Free Church.
Mr. George Greig (M.A., 1901 ; B.L.), solicitor, died at Kampala,
Uganda, on 27 December. He was the eldest son of Mr. John Greig, farmer,
South Sandlaw, Alvah, Banff ; and some time after qualifying as a solicitor,
he went to Uganda.
Obituary 185
Mr. John Primrose Meikleham (M.A., King's College, 1854) died
at his residence, 206 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, on 8 January. For
more than thirty years he was a teacher at Pluscarden, Elgin, but retired
twenty-seven years ago, since when he had devoted his time mainly to botan-
ical studies, in which he acquired great proficiency. He was a son of the
late Rev. John Meikleham, Grange, Banffshire.
Mr. George William Muill (alumnus, 1881-84) died at his residence,
27 Albyn Grove, Aberdeen, on 15 January, aged fifty-five. He was a son of the
late Mr. John Muill, advocate, Aberdeen ; and he became a member of the
Aberdeen Society of Advocates in 1891, but his membership terminated in
1895. He afterwards went to South Africa, where for a time he engaged
in legal business. After the Boer War he returned to this country, and had
since lived in retirement.
Rev. Andrew Murray (M.A., Marischal College, 1845 ; D.D., 1898),
known as the " father " of the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Colony, died on
19 January, aged eighty-eight. He was born at Graaf Reinet in 1828, and at the
age often was sent to Aberdeen to the care of his uncle. Rev. Dr. John Murray,
and received his education, first under the famous Melvin, at the Grammar
School, and afterwards at Marischal College. He took his divinity course in
Holland, chiefly at Utrecht, preparing himself for the Dutch Reformed
Church, of which his father was a pastor, and after three years he was licensed
and ordained to the pastorate. In 1848 he returned to the Cape, and became
leader in his Church, directing her Synods, influencing her young men, plant-
ing seminaries, and everywhere evangelizing. In 1856 he was sent to this
country to represent the Colony in connection with some questions of govern-
ment. For many years he ministered at Wellington, Cape of Good Hope ;
but as President of the South African General Mission and in other con-
nections his influence spread over the whole of South Africa. Dr. Murray
was a voluminous author of works bearing on practical and experimental
theology. His best known works are "Abide in Christ," "Like Christ,''
•' With Christ," and " The Children for Christ," which attained a wide circula-
tion, and have been translated into several foreign languages. A larger work
on the Epistle to the Hebrews, under the title, " The Holy of Holies," has
been very favourably received. He visited this country on various occasions,
his last visit being specially notable from his reception over the whole king-
dom as a preacher of the spiritual life. In America and on the Continent
he was welcomed with scarcely less unanimity among the Reformed
Churches.
Dr. William Russell (M.B., 1890; M.D., 1896) died at Kimberley,
South Africa, on 10 December, aged forty- six. After graduating, he was for
some years house surgeon at Toxteth Infirmary, Liverpool ; and for a time
he was superintendent of hospitals at Maidstone during the memorable
contagious diseases epidemic there. He was the author of a clinical record
of over 500 cases of typhus fever, and also wrote a thesis on accidental rash
in typhus and typhoid fevers, simulating rash of scarlet fever. He went out
to Kimberley in 1898, and for over fourteen years held the important post of
senior house surgeon at the Hospital there, only severing his connection with
1 86 Aberdeen University Review
that institution to assume private practice just before the outbreak of the
present war. He was one of the first medical men to offer his services at
the front, and rendered excellent service in attending sick and wounded in
the German South-West African campaign. Resuming practice in Kimberley,
he caught a chill, which developed into pneumonia, and, after an illness last-
ing some months, he died on lo December, as stated. His work at Kimberley
Hospital had given him a reputation throughout South Africa as a skilful and
resourceful surgeon, and by all classes in Kimberley he was held in the
highest esteem. During the siege of Kimberley in the Boer War, Dr. Russell's
tireless devotion and self-sacrifice, wedded to high professional skill, were
signally acknowledged in an autograph letter sent to him by direction of the
late Queen Victoria. A letter of similar import was also received by the
doctor from the late Earl Roberts.
Colonel Johnston Shearer, C.B., D.S.O., Indian Medical Service (re-
tired), (M.A., 1873; M.B., CM., 1877; D,P.H., 1897), died at Bridge of
Allah on 6 February, aged sixty-four. He was a son of the late Mr. Johnston
Shearer, photographer, Aberdeen, and was married to a daughter of the late
Baillie James Kinghorn. Educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School and
the University, he entered the Indian Medical Service in 1880, and was
Maclaine prizeman in military surgery at the Army Medical School, Netley,
in 1 88 1. He had seen a great deal of active service. Colonel Shearer, who
attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1 900, served in the Egyptian War
of 1882 (medal and Khedive Star); with the Burmese Expedition, 1887-88
(medal and two clasps) ; with the Hazara Expedition in 1891 (clasp) ; with
the second Miranzai Expedition, 1891 (clasp) ; and with the Waziristan Field
Force under Sir William Lockhart in 1894-95 (mentioned in dispatches —
clasp). He also took part in the Tirah Expedition Force of 1897-98 (medal
and two clasps — mentioned in dispatches) and was awarded the D.S.O.
Dr. William Leith Ireland Sutherland (M.B., 1884) died at his
residence, 33 Trafford Road, Sal ford, Manchester, on 23 December, aged
fifty-six. He had been in practice in Salford for the last thirty years.
Mr. George Thom (M.A., 1863; LL.D. [St. And.], 1887) died at Aber-
deen on 20 December, aged seventy-four. He was a native of Forgue, Aber-
deenshire, and was educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Univer-
sity, attaining at the latter a very high position in the mathematical classes. On
leaving the University, he was for some time on the staff of the Gymnasium,
Old Aberdeen ; and in 1867, when only twenty-five years of age, he was ap-
pointed Principal of Doveton College, Madras. This position he held for
ten years, and during that time he frequently served as an examiner at the
University of Madras. On returning from India in 1878, he was appointed
to succeed the late Dr. William Barrack as Headmaster of Dollar Academy,
and he occupied this post with much distinction for the next twenty-four
years, retiring in 1902 and settling latterly in Aberdeen. He wrote a number
of standard class-books on mathematics, botany, physiology, and other sub-
jects, and for a number of years he did examination work for the Civil Service
Commissioners.
Obituary 187
Dr. George Albert Turner (M.B., 1897 ; D.P.H., 1898J died at the
Johannesburg Hospital on 27 October, aged forty-one. He was a son of the
late Sir George Turner, the distinguished sanatorian, and, after graduating,
went out to South Africa, his father then being Principal Medical Officer of
Health for the Cape Government. He was appointed medical officer to the
Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum, and after the Boer War (in which he served
as surgeon-captain in Marshall's Horse) he held public health appointments
at Cape Town and Kimberley. In 1908 Dr. Turner secured the Craig Scholar-
ship of the London School of Medicine for a monograph on " The Intestinal
Parasites of South African Natives ". As medical officer of the Witwatersrand
Native Labour Association, he had charge of the examination of many
thousands of natives. His duties took him to remote native territories, and
he went in the pursuit of scientific investigation to British East Africa to
inquire into the tropical problem of sleeping sickness. During these re-
searches Dr. Turner contracted malaria] fever, which developed later, and
compelled him to enter Johannesburg Hospital on 24 October. He died
three days afterwards.
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, F.R.S., D.C.L., etc., formerly Professor
of Anthropology in the University of Oxford, died at Wellington, Somerset, on
2 January, aged eighty-four. He was the first Gifford Lecturer at Aberdeen
University (1889-91), and delivered a striking series of lectures upon the
anthropological aspects of religion and religious beliefs. He received the
honorary degree of LL.D. from Aberdeen University in 1891. Sir Edward
Tylor was the author of "Researches into the Early History of Mankind,"
" Primitive Culture," and other works ; and " The Times " remarked that by
his death " the science of anthropology has lost one of its most brilliant Eng-
lish exponents ".
WAR OBITUARY.
William Abernethy (ist year's student in Science, 1 913-14) joined the
Gas Section of the Royal Engineers after the outbreak of the war. He was
wounded in action on 29 June, 1916, and died the following day. He was
the son of Mr. Andrew Abernethy, formerly of Braehead, Hillswick, Shetland,
now residing at 2 Marchmont Crescent, Edinburgh, and was 23 years of age.
James Hume Adams (ist year's student in Arts and Law, 1 914- 15),
Private in the Cameron Highlanders, was killed in action at Loos on 25
September, 1915.
Henry Begg (M.B., 1906), Captain, R.A.M.C., was killed in action in
France, 14 November. He was proceeding along a trench, accompanied by
his sergeant of bearers, when a shell exploded near him and the concussion
killed him at once. None of the bits hit him, and his body bore no marks.
His Colonel had recommended him for the Military Cross. Dr. Begg was
in practice in Kentish Town, London, and was clinical assistant at the Great
Northerrr- Central Hospital and the Mount Vernon Chest Hospital. He joined
the ist Highland Field Ambulance early in the war, and had seen a good
deal of active service. Captain Begg was the fourth son of Mr. George Begg,
Mains of Druminnor, Rhynie.
1 88 Aberdeen University Review
Norman Birss (Arts student), Sergeant, 7th Battalion, Gordon High-
landers, was killed in action in France on 13 November. He was the
youngest son of Mr. James Birss, police constable, Skene, and was twenty-
three years of age.
Edgar George William Bisset (2nd year's medical student, 1915-16),
Second Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders, attached to the Royal Flying Corps,
was killed in action on 7 January. He "went up on a shoot" with a pilot,
but had hardly started when a German machine dived on them and started
firing before they knew they were attacked. Bisset immediately stood up in his
seat and faced the German, reaching up for his gun, but fell back with a
bullet through the head. The pilot managed to make a miraculous escape
and landed as near as he dared behind the lines, and got Bisset removed to a
hospital, but to no purpose. Death must have been instantaneous. This
was Bisset's last " shoot " to quaHfy him for his '*wing". A fellow-officer,
communicating the news to his father (Mr. James D. Bisset, Union Bank,
Peterhead), said Bisset was an exceedingly popular member of "A" Flight of
the squadron to which he was attached, and added: "He would be the
very last to wish me to say anything to his credit, and I feel that it would be
quite superfluous, as a life like his was so transparently beautiful and sincere
that it needs no eulogies. He has left a gap in our mess which no new draft
from England can possibly fill, but I thought you would like to know that he
died as he lived — a, British gentleman." Bisset was only twenty years of age.
James Kirton Collie (M.A., 191 6), Private in the Gordon Highlanders,
was killed in action in France on 16 December. He was a son of Mr. J.
Collie, wood turner, 20 Linksfield Road, Aberdeen, and was twenty- three
years of age.
John Cowie (Arts student, 1911-13), seaman, Royal Naval Division, is
reported to have been killed by a shell in January last. He enlisted in the
R.N.D. in October, 1914; was in the Hawke battalion and served at
Gallipoli ; and he was wounded in the fighting on the Ancre last November.
He was a son of Mr. Cowie, 2 7 Gordon Street, Buckie, and was for a time
a clerk with Messrs. Murray and Cowie, fish salesmen, Buckie.
Rev. Norman Crichton (M.A., 191 1), Second Lieutenant, Seaforth
Highlanders, was killed in action in France, in November. Before enlisting,
he was a fourth year student of Divinity in the United Free Church College,
Aberdeen, and assistant in Rutherford United Free Church. He enlisted
as a private in the Gordons, but later on received a commission in the
Seaforths. On the eve of proceeding abroad about a year ago, he was
licensed by his home Presbytery of Lewis. He was a native of Stornoway.
Alexander Lundie Hunter Ferguson (Arts student, 191 2- 13),
Second Lieutenant (temporary), Gordon Highlanders, has been reported as
killed in action in Picardy in July, 191 6, after being reported as missing.
He had been wounded twice before — in November, 191 5, and April, 1916.
He was the son of Mrs. Ferguson, 21 Desswood Place, Aberdeen, and was
twenty-one years of age. His brother is a Lieutenant in the Indian Army.
Obituary 189
Alexander Findlater (Arts student — ist year), Lance -Corporal, Gordon
Highlanders, previously reported missing, is now, after a long and painful
suspense, presumed to have been killed in action in France on 25 September,
19 1 5. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Findlater, Mill of Sauchen, Cluny,
Aberdeenshire, and was nineteen years of age.
Jack Galloway (alumnus), Corporal in the Tasmanian Contingent, died
at the Parkhouse Military Hospital, Salisbury, on 1 7 January, aged thirty-five.
He was the elder son of Mr. John Galloway, retired Inspector of Schools, Aber-
deen, his mother being a sister of Sir James Barrie. For a short time he was
on the sub-editing staff of the "Aberdeen Free Press" and afterwards went
to London, but about six years ago he emigrated to Tasmania along with his
younger brother and engaged in fruit-farming. He enlisted shortly after the
outbreak of the war and came to this country some time ago, but he con-
tracted a bad cold on the voyage and never recovered from its effects.
James Brown Gillies (alumnus, 1904-05; ~B.L., 1908), Captain,
Gordon Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 13 November. He
was a member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen, and was a partner
in business with his father, Mr. T. R. Gillies, Advocate. He was secretary
of the Aberdeen University Club, and was also secretary and treasurer of the
Cairngorm Club and editor of its "Journal," to which he contributed
interesting and attractive articles. Captain Gillies was for some time an
officer in the Territorial Force, but had retired prior to the war. He
rejoined the 4th Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders soon after the out-
break of war, however, and proved himself an exceedingly capable officer and
thoroughly efficient in all the details of military duty. He had seen a deal
of active service, and had been continuously at the front since March of last
year.
Charles James Donald Simpson Gordon (ist year's Med., 1913-14),
Corporal, Gordon Highlanders (T.F.), was a private at the outbreak of the
war. He was reported as missing after an action in France on 28 July, 1916,
and is now presumed to have fallen on that date. He was the son of Mr.
Robert Gordon, farmer, Pitkerrie, Fearn, Ross-shire.
The death in action of William Stephen Haig (M.A., 1914), Corporal,
Gordon Highlanders, has now been officially confirmed. He had been missing
since the action about Hooge, Flanders, 25 September, 1915. He was the
son of Mr. William Haig, permanent way inspector, Maud, and was twenty-
two years of age. He was studying Divinity.
Alexander Rennie Henderson (M.A., 191 1), prior to entering the
University, was educated at Robert Gordon's College. At the outbreak
of the war he was still Colour-Sergeant in " U " Coy. of the 4th Gordon
Highlanders. A month later he received his commission as Second Lieu-
tenant, and was afterwards promoted to be Lieutenant. He was reported
" wounded or missing " after the severe engagement near Hooge, Flanders,
on 25 September, 1915, and is now presumed to have been killed in action
I go Aberdeen University Review
on that date. Lieutenant Henderson was an able student and an active
athlete — goalkeeper when at the University to the University Football Club,
and wicket-keeper to the St. Ronald Cricket Club. After graduating, he
taught for a time at Falkirk and then in Aboyne Higher Grade School. He
was the elder son of Mr. A. R. Henderson, teacher, 146 Beaconsfield Place,
Aberdeen, and was 27 years of age.
Alexander Robertson Horne (M.A., 1909), Private, Gordon High-
landers, died in the Dustan Military Hospital, Northampton, on 25 January,
of wounds received in action. He was twenty-nine years of age, and had
been a teacher at Peterhead Academy for five years.
Donald Fraser Jenkins, M.C. (Agricultural student). Second Lieu-
tenant, Seaforth Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 13 November.
He joined the Gordon Highlanders when war broke out, and served as a
private for seven months. He then obtained a commission in the Seaforth
Highlanders, and had been at the front for six months. He was awarded the
Military Cross in September. He was the younger son of Mr. William D.
Jenkins, fishcurer, 56 Rubislaw Den South, Aberdeen, and grandson of Ex-
Provost Jenkins, Burghead, and was aged nineteen years, eleven months.
James Lyall (M.A,, 19 10), Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders, was killed
in action in France in November. For several years he was on the teaching
staflf of Turriff Higher Grade School. He went to Grahamstown, South
Africa, in 191 3, but returned after the outbreak of war and enlisted in the
Gordons. He was a native of Macduff.
Rev. William A. Macleod died of dysentery at Salonika on 16 Novem-
ber, while serving with the Y.M.C.A., Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
He was a son of the late Mr. William Macleod, stereotyper, Aberdeen, and
was originally a compositor. By dint of hard work and diligent application
to study in his spare time, he qualified for entrance to the University, and in
course of time he passed through the Divinity Hall, where he gained
several prizes. In March last he was licensed by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.
During his student days he acted with much efficiency and marked success as
missionary assistant in the West Parish Church, Aberdeen, under Rev. G. H.
Donald. On being licensed, Mr. Macleod went as assistant to Rev. John
Pringle, Tarves, and during his six months' sojourn there he commended him-
self to the people of the parish by his direct and powerful style of preaching.
During last summer Mr. Macleod served for three months with the Y.M.C.A.
at a station on the Clyde. His work there was so highly appreciated by the
authorities that they asked him to undertake a period of duty either in France
or in Salonika. He chose the latter locus, and from September till his death
he had done much to brighten the lives of the fighting men there. He was
a young man on the threshold of a career of undoubted brilliance and high
usefulness. He was thirty-six years of age.
William Murison Smith Merson (M.A., 1913; LL.B., 1914), Captain,
Gordon Highlanders, was killed in action in France, 13 November. He
was the only son of Mr. Joseph Merson, solicitor, Banchory, and was twenty -
four years of age.
Obituary 191
Gilbert A. Pirie (Medical student — 2nd year, 1915-16), Private in the
Cameron Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 18 August. He was
a son of Mr. Pirie of Riversdale, Huntly.
William Mitchell Reid (M.A., 1909), Private in a South African regi-
ment, died of wounds received in action in January. He was for a time as-
sistant master at Tomintoul School, and was afterwards on the staff of
Rothesay Higher Grade School. From Rothesay he went to South Africa.
He was a son of Mrs. Reid, Gordon Street, Huntly, and was twenty-eight years
of age.
John William Shanks (Arts student 2nd year), Private, Gordon
Highlanders, previously reported missing, is now presumed to have been
killed on 25 September, 191 5. He was a distinguished student and a frequent
contributor to "Alma Mater ". He was twenty- two years of age — a son of
Mr. John Shanks (of Lawsons, Ltd.), 122 Union Grove, Aberdeen.
John Watt Simpson (M.A., 1909; LL.B.), Second Lieutenant, Border
Regiment, was accidentally killed by a premature shell explosion at a bombing
base, on 8 December. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, North
Bank House, Portree, Skye, and was twenty-eight years of age. His only
brother died shortly before.
Robert James Smith (Agricultural student, N.D.A.), Second Lieutenant,
Seaforth Highlanders, died on 13 November of wounds received in action,
aged twenty-seven. He was the second son of the late Mr. John Smith, East
Mains, Knockando.
William Stephen (M.A., 1903), Captain, Gordon Highlanders, was
killed in action in France on 13 November. After graduating, he became a
partner in the firm of Messrs. G. Stephen & Co., merctiants, shipbuilders,
and fishcurers, Fraserburgh, which was founded by his late father, Mr. George
Stephen. He had been a member of the Fraserburgh School Board for the
past eight years. He was thirty-four years of age. His younger brother. Dr.
Harry Stephen, is a surgeon in the Navy.
Andrew James Baxter Taylor (Arts student), Private, Signal Section,
Gordon Highlanders, died in a casualty clearing station in France on
28 December: he was wounded two days previously. After a creditable
career in Gordon's College, he entered the University with a view to following
the teaching profession, and was in his fourth year when he enlisted. He
had a decided literary bent, and several of his poetic efforts appeared in the
magazines of Gordon's College and the University. He had intended taking
honours in Arts ; and as he had fulfilled all the requirements for the ordinary
Degree of M.A., this has been conferred by the Senatus. He was the only
son of Mrs. Taylor, 3 Crimon Place, Aberdeen, and was twenty- one years of
age.
Edward Martin Cooke Tennant (ist year's Science, 19 13- 14), Second
Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders, died of wounds received in action on 16
192 Aberdeen 'University Review
October. Before he received his commission, he was a private in " D '* Coy.
of the 4th Gordons, and, serving from the beginning of the war, was first
wounded at Loos, 25 September, 191 5. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Edward Tennant, 48 Brighton Place, Aberdeen.
Rev. William Urquhart (M.A., 1906; B.D., 1909), minister of the
parish of Kinloch-Rannoch, Perthshire, Lieutenant, ist Black Watch, was (as
mentioned on p. 96) killed in action in France on 16 August last, aged thirty-
two. Rev. John Will (M.A., 1903; B.D.), minister of Giffnock, Renfrew-
shire (formerly of Aberfeldy), sends us the following : —
** As a class-fellow in Divinity and a co-Presbyter of the late Rev. William
Urquhart, I cannot refrain from writing a few lines in his memory.
*'Mr. Urquhart, as a student, minister, and soldier, stood high in the
esteem of his fellows. He was a fearless thinker, a beloved pastor, and a
gallant soldier. He was one of the first ministers to join the Army, not
because he felt that a minister could serve his country better in the Army
than at his post in the Church, but because the 1 call of duty was ever strong
within him, and having received in his student days a military training in the
Scottish Horse, he felt that he owed his country in her need a special debt
on that account. He obeyed what was to him the heavenly vision. He
never regretted his decision, though unto the end he abhorred war with the
horror that was born of his firm faith in the better way which he had been
ordained to preach. By his death the Church of Scotland has lost a fearless
witness to the truth, and his University has gained one more spotless hero to
her * Roll of Honour '.
" His loss is mourned by his young widow and his many friends. He
counted not his life dear unto himself."
James Roderick Watt (ist year's Med., 1913-14) was, at the outbreak
of the war, a private in " U " Company, 4th Gordon Highlanders, and was
later transferred to the special brigade of the Royal Engineers as a pioneer.
He was killed in action in France on 30 June, 191 6. He was the son of
Mr. James Watt (M.A., 1887), teacher, Hilton School, Fearn, Ross-shire.
John Alexander Wilson (M.A., 1913), Second Lieutenant, Gordon
Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 13 November. Prior to the
war he was on the teaching staff of the Fraserburgh School Board. He
enlisted in the Gordons as a private, and subsequently obtained a commission.
H e was the only son of the late Mr. John Wilson, engineer, Belmont Road,
Aberdeen, and was twenty-six years of age.
[Since going to press we have received news of the deaths in action of
Captain Joseph Ellis Milne, D.S.O., R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1888; M.B., 1891 ;
M.D., 1894), and Lieutenant Hector Robert Macdonald, Seaforth High-
landers (2nd year's Arts student, 1 913- 14) — both on 22nd February. Fuller
notices of these two officers will appear in the next number of the Review.]
v-^
^^2ti^<o>i^jv<^ ^
n-^
The
Aberdeen University Review
Vol. IV. No. 12 June, 191 7
Our New^ Chancellor.
•E are living amid so many and such varied up-
heavals, at the mercy of so many cuttings-adrift
from the old moorings, that such traditions as sur-
vive automatically assume a new and enhanced
significance; the mere fact of survival being re-
garded as a rough-and-ready proof of their
essential fitness to continue flourishing.
The selection of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon for the
Chancellorship of our University is a case in point ; for, while our
whole educational equipment is undergoing a fierce bombardment in
the light of war, new ideals and new methods being widely canvassed,
we deliberately hark back to a traditional type of Chancellor, as
soldiers seek shelter in a well-constructed trench. We are re-establish-
ing a continuity with the Past, reviving historical associations of
much picturesqueness, and yet ensuring thereby, as I believe, a real
practical value. In both these evaluations I am personally very deeply
interested, and I shall treat of His Grace here not so much as a unit,
but as a link and a type in a long chain of tendency.
The selection of the Duke shows once more that the Gordons ' * hae
the guidin' o't" ; for the mere fact that there have been breaks in the
chain only goes to prove the extraordinary vitality of his line. Mr.
Murray Rose recently described the Gordons of Huntly as " one of
the most unlucky races in Scotland ". That may seem to invalidate
this " guidin' o't " ; but, while " time and again they lost their all,
their broad acres and even their heads, yet ever and anon they rose to
greater splendour and power ". It has certainly been so in the matter
13
194 Aberdeen University Review
of the Gordons' connection with the University, in which we see a
complete reflex of their family fortunes.
Both the great lines of northern Gordons have held office as
Chancellors; they did so in both the previous Universities (King's
College and Marischal College) : they have almost monopolized the
office during the fifty-seven years' existence of the combined University,
in which they are now celebrating almost the quatercentenary of their
connection with the earlier foundation. These facts are set forth at a
glance in the accompanying table: meantime we may divide their
services in the separate institutions : —
King's College . . 1515-1518. Bishop Alexander Gordon.
„ „ . . 1546-1577. Bishop William Gordon,
,, „ . . 1643-1649. Second Marquis of Huntly.
„ „ . . 1793-1827. Fourth Duke of Gordon.
„ „ . . 1827-1860. Fourth Earl of Aberdeen.
Five Gordons out of the twenty-three Chancellors during 366 years reigned . . . 107 years.
Marischal College . 1814-1836. Fifth Duke of Gordon. Huntly group. 22 years.
„ „ . 1836-1860. Fifth Duke of Richmond. „ „ 24 „
Two Gordons out of the twelve Chancellors during 267 years reigned . . . .46 years.
Universitv nf Aberdeen /Sept.-Dec. i860. Fourth Earl of Aberdeen. Haddo group \ jointi^
untvetstty oj Aberdeen -(^Sept.-Oct. i860. Fifth Duke of Richmond. Huntly group / JO*""^-
„ „ i860- 1903. Sixth Duke of Richmond
and Gordon. , , „ 43 years.
„ „ 1917 Seventh Duke of Rich-
mond and Gordon. ,, ,, from I9I7'
Haddo group.
Huntly group.
»> »>
3 ye»«.
^a :;
Haddo group.
34 »
33 M
Four Gordons out of the six Chancellors during 57 years reigned . . . .43 years.
Taking 1494 as the essential foundation of the University, we find
that the Gordons have held the Chancellorship for 150 years out of
the 423 which constitute the entire life of our Alma Mater: and the
selection of the present Duke of Richmond means that this long spell
of service is to be lengthened.
This fine record does not of course exhaust the services of the house
of Gordon to the University. They have from first to last held many
professorships, establishing in the case of the Kethock's Mill family
something like a hereditary dynasty over a period of 138 years. In
our time, the Marquis of Huntly put in a memorable spell of three
Lord Rectorships (1890-99): while the Parliamentary representation
was in the hands of a Sutherlandshire Gordon, Edward Strathearn
Gordon, for another nine years, 1869-76, when he was created a life
peer as Lord Gordon of Drumearn.
But I am concerned here with the highest ofifice of all : and in any
Our New Chancellor 195
case, enthusiastic as I am for the achievements of the great name, I
am the last to lay stress on the Gordons' contribution to ** learning"
and to practical academicalism. On the contrary, the Gordons have
made their mark very largely by the very absence of that qualification.
They are essentially men of action and not students : " Dominus " but
not "dominie" ; Masters of Arms rather than Arts — you really can't
have your cake and eat it. In the very fact of their being men of
action lies the secret of the amazing vitality of the race, for, if their
lack of the severely balanced academic judgment led them into all
sorts of political adventures, which constantly brought them to disaster,
the absence of preconceived ideas, of a hard and dry doctrinairism, led
to their rapid recovery and to their adaptation to new circumstances.
Thus, Marischal College, which was started by the Keiths for every-
thing that the Gordons did not stand for, ended its separate career in the
keeping of those very Gordons ; and, while Jacobitism was adopted by
both Keiths and Gordons, it ham-strung the former while only delaying
the progress of the latter. Even the failure of the line male in the
latter, and the introduction of a family of different traditions, did not
end the Gordons, for the new-comers, the Lennoxes, not only got
possession of the Gordon lands, but subsequently acquired possession
first of the surname, second of the title, and finally of the academic
functions of the Gordons.
Such, then, are the historical facts, picturesque in their remarkable
vitality, but easily explainable for an era when the mere ownership of
acres was regarded as the supreme test for leadership. But what
bearing, you may ask, has this on the capacity to fill the high position
of Chancellor? ** Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay."
The war has resulted in the expulsion of Tsardom ; yet here we are
going back to a house that is quite as old as the Romanoffs. The war
has bred many cries for the "expert" in education, and here we select
as our head a nobleman who does not even pretend to be any such
thing. It is just because His Grace sets up no such pretensions that I
think the selection admirable.
The great trouble about ** education " and its "experts" is that
both of them tend to become a priestcraft, constantly divorcing itself
from the needs of its flock. It was just the needs of that flock, a
"rude and ignorant people," cut off from the rest of the world "by
firths and very lofty mountains," that induced Pope Alexander VI
to grant his Bull for the erection of the University, so that " the price-
196 Aberdeen University Review
less pearl of knowledge" might bring blessings far and wide, ''raising
those of humble origin to the highest rank ". That the actual task of
putting the experiment into practice should have been confided to a
Churchman, Bishop William Elphinstone, involved no prerogative of
priestcraft, for, like most prelates of his time, Elphinstone was a
lawyer, a politician, a diplomatist, a civic force, an educationist, rather
than a mere Churchman. Gradually, however, the priceless pearl of
knowledge tends to become the hobby of the mere lapidary, without
reference to its ultimate destination and use on leaving his hands.
Knowledge tends to become an end in itself instead of a means to
an end; hence all the old talk about " arenas of the south" as the
student's goal — without the glimmer of an idea whether they were to
lead to anything better than inadequately paid usherism, or a mere
blind alley.
It is just this that has roused the anger of " practical men " as they
think of the deficiencies in their own intellectual equipment. The
subaltern, landing in France, curses the years spent over tragic tri-
meters (they are indeed very tragic), when he cannot talk to the porters
on the quay. The paterfamilias in the city contrasts the smart " Poly-
technic "-bred typist in his office with the helplessness of his own boy
from Harrow ; and so the ferment goes on, wild words whirling on the
rostrum and in the reviews. The impeachment of the Universities in
particular is punctuated with a paralysing antagonism, when it is seen
how education has often drifted far from the needs of a people as " rude
and ignorant" (in proportion) as they were when Elphinstone so
daringly dumped his studium generale down by the cold north sea.
But the bewildered educationists have even a greater enemy than
those discontented critics, for they are now faced by a type of man as
narrow as the narrowest of the old classicists. The "Business Man,"
the most fashionable witch doctor of the day, is hurtled at their un-
happy heads, with all his " get-on-or-get-out " panaceas, and his in-
tense belief — excusable, perhaps, in view of the extraordinary homage
paid to him — that because he has run the Shop successfully, he can
also run the School, the Senate, the State, even the Universe, to equal
advantage. As often as not he is proud to feel that he knows no Latin
and less Greek; believing that if he did he would have lost his "push
and go". His gospel of "Do-it-Now" is of course the antithesis of
the very ideal of a University, the business of which is rather to teach
one how to do it To-morrow. Strange as it may seem, the methods of
Our New Chancellor 197
the " Business Man " were largely formulated, if not actually made, in
modern Germany, which we are fighting furiously, and like many
German concoctions, this special medicine must be strenuously resisted
by us (especially in the University),^ not because the dispensers happen
to be our enemies, but because the specific was designed for a very
different disease, for another type of constitution altogether. The
failure to perceive this has, indeed, been the bane of all our modern
educational systems, of those dreary "Codes," of competition "wal-
lahs " ; of attempting to approximate the conditions of the homely
sawdust in our northern ring to the well-appointed mat in the " arenas
of the south ". There must, of course, be certain standards, if only to
ensure satisfactory intercommunication : but beyond that there must
be an intimate knowledge of the requirements of certain communities,
of different localities, for while there is no such kingdom as Bavaria, or
Saxony, or Wurtemberg except on the map, there is a very distinct
England and a different Scotland, and a still more different Ireland
(don't we know it to our bitter cost ?), and a whole series of different
Dominions beyond the Sea. As Professor Wron of Toronto told an
American audience recently, the distinguishing feature of the British
Empire is its underlining of diversities of institutions rather than of
likenesses, and this should hold good of the whole problem of our
educational system.
Such, as it seems to me, is the educational position we are facing,
and I have set it down fully, because I believe the Duke of Richmond
and Gordon possesses many of the qualities necessary to deal with it
successfully. In the first place, he is not an " Educational Expert " :
he comes to the post without distinctive biases for one system more
than another. In the second place, he is not a " Business Man " in
the sense which is " boosted " so much to-day, that is the man who
makes something or sells something. That, of course, does not mean
that he is unbusinesslike : no man at the head of great estates, with
hundreds of tenants, can be unbusinesslike — less so indeed now than
ever, for the war has made us understand the value of the land more
clearly than we have understood it for nearly a century.
The Chancellorship is the apex of the University triangle, the
^This proposition is elaborately demonstrated minutely in Professor Burnet's new
book, " Higher Education and the War," published (by Macmillan) after this article was in
type. Attention is drawn, in particular, to the seventh chapter, "Scotland and Prussia'*
<pp. 181-213). " We must not," he says, " allow the Carnegie Trustees to Prussianise us."
198 Aberdeen University Review
point at which the body academic comes into contact with the outside
world, and so it is of first-rate importance that the office should be
filled by a man of the world, by a man who sees clearly what the
world wants of the University as well as what the University can
offer to the world, that being the criterion of all the other officials be-
neath him. Furthermore, the Chancellor should be a man of our par-
ticular northern world, with an intimate knowledge of its requirements
and its ideals ; and in this respect the Duke is better equipped than
any of his immediate family predecessors since the death of the last
Duke of Gordon.
The fact that he is a Gordon only through the female line, so far
from being against His Grace, brings him thoroughly into line with our
distinctly feminist age, for the extraordinary importance assigned to
descent through males is merely a legal fiction and not a scientific
validity. There is, of course, a great deal of facile nonsense talked
about " matriarchy," yet the influence of women on her line is a
commonplace of everyone's experience. Thus, I constantly notice that
the Scots mother of an English boy will often make him more Scots
than a Scot : one sees it in the clannishness of such an organization as
the London Scottish, and similar combinations. Now, as it happens,
the Duke traces back on both sides of his house to some power-
ful women : on the paternal side, to the brilliant Breton beauty,
Louise Ren^e de Penancourt de Keroualle (i 647-1 734), the mother of
Charles Lennox, first Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1672-1723);
and, on the maternal side, to Jane Maxwell (died 18 12), the greatest
Duchess of Gordon, who transmitted her ability far more to her (five)
daughters than to either of her sons. We live in a time when we hear
a great deal about the Woman who Does : but, as a matter of fact, very
few of the modern feminist protagonists can compare with the dashing
Duchess, who did much to revive the faded fortunes of the Gay
Gordons : indeed she was much more a Gordon by temperament than
her somewhat bucolic spouse.
When she married her first-born, Lady Charlotte Gordon, to young
Charles Lennox, she might have been thought to be courting disaster,
for he had fought a duel in the previous May with a Prince of the
Blood, the Duke of York, and had to exchange from the Coldstream
Guards into the Line in consequence ; and he had fought a second duel
in July with the writer of a pamphlet animadverting on his conduct.
No Prince of the Blood had ever befoie accepted a challenge from a
Our New Chancellor 199
subject, and there was another piquancy in the duel, for the young
Guardsman's aunt, Lady Sarah Lennox, had jilted the Royal Duke's
father when Prince of Wales, and thrown him into the arms of poor
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Lady Sarah afterwards bolted with
Lord William Gordon, the uncle of Lady Charlotte, a few weeks after
the latter was born. Besides which, Lennox — who by the way was the
son of a Scotswoman, Lady Louisa Kerr, and who was born in Scot-
land— had every chance of ending his life as a commoner, for his father
was only heir-presumptive to the Dukedom of Richmond. The match,
therefore, seemed anything but promising, which probably accounted
for the ceremony being celebrated "very quietly "as the society para-
graphist would say. I always like to recall the circumstantial account
of it in the little-known " Memoirs of Mr. Matthias d' Amour," the
confidential servant of the Duchess of Gordon : —
The ceremony took place [on 6 September, 1789] in the Duchess's best
dressing-room [at Gordon Castle, where Lady Charlotte had been born on
20 September, 1768]. The Duke [of Gordon] was not at home. Nobody in
the house but the Duchess and two women servants, besides the immediate
parties, knew of the wedding, not even Lady Charlotte's brother, the Marquis
of Huntly, till the third day after. The reason, I believe, was to avoid tedious
parade.
On the morning of the third day, the Duchess informed her son, the
Marquis of Huntly, of the event. As a great number of the neighbouring
gentry, according to custom, had assembled to welcome the arrival of the
femily into the North, the young Marquis was very desirous of being himself the
instrument to announce the news. Accordingly, after dinner was over, and
the ladies had retired, the Marquis, archly addressing Colonel Lennox, said :
" Colonel, allow me to drink Charlotte's health in style". "Stay," said the
Colonel, "let us first get her Grace's leave." He directly left the room and,
returning in a short time, announced to the young Marquis that the Duchess
gave consent. "Then," said the Marquis, "let it be in a bumper." "Nay,"
said the Colonel, "let us have bottles, and give me two." So said, so done;
each gentleman had a bottle set before him with the cork ready drawn, and
Colonel Lennox two, as he had desired.
The Colonel then rose from his seat and gave in a bold and unfaltering
voice, " Lady Charlotte Lennox ! " A burst of astonishment and applause was
the consequence. The servants in waiting directly communicated it to those
without, and every part of the house literally rang with the news, as it flew
from room to room. I believe every man at the table drank his bottle of wine
in due style, and the bridegroom his two. As the bottles were emptied, they
laid them on the table, each one with its neck to a common centre and thus
made the form of a star in honour of the ceremony, which remained till next
day.
That star became a brilliant constellation which would require a
whole issue of this magazine merely to chart. Suffice to say that, but
200 Aberdeen University Review
for the mysterious marriage in Jane Maxwell's "best dressing-room,"
there might have been no " sound of revelry by night " in Brussels on
the eve of Waterloo, and the present Duke of Richmond might not be
now our Chancellor.
Charles Henry (Gordon-Lennox), seventh Duke of Richmond
[1675], and Earl of March [1675], and Baron Settrington [1675] in
the peerage of England: Duke of Lennox [1675], Earl of Darnley
[1675], and Lord Torboltoun [1675] in the peerage of Scotland : Duke
of Gordon and Earl of Kinrara [1876] in the peerage of the United
Kingdom : and Duke of Aubigny [1684] in France, is the eldest son of
Charles Henry, sixth Duke of Richmond, by Francis Harriet, daughter
of Algernon Frederick Greville, who was private secretary (1827-42)
to the Duke of Wellington, having been his A.D.C. at Waterloo. He
was bom in Portland Place — the widest street in London — on 27 De-
cember, 1845, little more than three years after his great-grandmother,
the hostess of the Waterloo Ball, died, though three of her brilliantly-
mated sisters were still alive.
The Duke's career has been very similar to that of most gentle-
men of his quality. He was educated at Eton ; spent a year in the
Grenadier Guards, and several more in the 3rd Royal Sussex (Militia),
of which he is now honorary colonel, and with which he went to South
Africa, 190 1 -2. He spent nearly twenty years (1869-88) in the House
of Commons. He has been an A.D.C. to the Sovereign since 1896,
bore the Sceptre with Dove at the Coronation of King George, and
was made C.B. in 1902, G.C.V.O. in 1904, and K.G. in 1905. He
has been much interested in all sports, including racing, as you might
expect from the owner of Goodwood, and he is a steward of the
Jockey Club, where he has learnt (as he could learn in very few
assemblies) the difficult art of handling men.
Most of these qualifications are beyond the ken of a Senatus
Academicus, and indeed of most north country folk. The point of
interest for us is this — that, ever since he has had a chance, that is
since his accession to the Dukedom, he has taken an exceptional
interest in his northern lands, almost making Gordon Castle his
headquarters. Indeed, he has identified himself more with his
Scots interests than his father or his grandfather did, for the family
has been gradually becoming more and more Gordon. The induce-
ment of the Duke of Gordon's daughters to find interests elsewhere
than in the northern counties were great, for four of them married
Our New Chancellor 20i
English peers and the fifth married (secondly) an English commoner,
so that their centre of gravity was removed to the other side of the
Border. The interest of the Lennoxes in the north was revived by
the death of the fifth Duke of Gordon in 1836, when his sister, the
Duchess of Richmond, succeeded to most of his estates and her
family assumed the name of Gordon-Lennox. This connection was
strengthened in 1864 by the death of the fifth Duke's widow, who
was about as different from the gay Gordons as it was possible
to be. Another step linking the Lennoxes with the north was the
creation of the Earldom of Kinrara — that was where Jane Maxwell
had eked out her last sad years — and the re-creation of the Dukedom
of Gordon for His Grace's father in 1876.
When the present Duke succeeded, he automatically fell heir to
his father's north country offices, adding, however, to these the Lord-
Lieutenancy of Elginshire and the chairmanship of the Territorial
Associations both of Banff and Elgin. This latter function was after
his own heart, for the Duke has always been interested in soldiering,
giving all his three sons — one of whom fell in the Great War — to the
Army. One of the first things he did was to arrange and inventory
the magnificent collection of war relics that had been gathered at
Gordon Castle. That was appropriate, because the House of Gordon
possesses, in the highest degree, all the qualities that make the soldier,
and from the time that they established themselves as a definite family
unit on the warlike Borders, to the day that they made good their
right to live in the forfeited territories of David de Strabolgi, and on
to the present time, the Gordons have been identified with everything
dealing with arms. His Grace's inventory — " Catalogue of Weapons,
Battle Trophies, and Regimental Colours," at Gordon Castle, published
privately in 1907 and running into 74 pages — is an admirable piece of
work : and his intense interest in the whole subject prompted him to
lend the present writer many thousands of documents bearing on the
four separate regiments raised by his great-great-grandfather, the
fourth Duke of Gordon, so that the New Spalding Club was able to
present an intimate (and perhaps unique) history of the mechanism
employed in raising troops in the end of the eighteenth century.
'While His Grace would be the last to claim the tastes of a book-
worm, a region in which no man of the name of Gordon has ever
occupied the highest place, he is greatly fascinated by the history
of his own family, and has taken the keenest interest in the re-
202 Aberdeen University Review
arrangement of his charter chest, and in such an institution as the
New Spalding Club, which has devoted so much of its energy to
recording the history of his House.
But it is even of more value to us that he should be less a book-
man than a man of affairs. The Duke knows at first hand the condi-
tions of all classes of the people in this part of the world — of the big
farmer who has conquered nature and raised farming to the pitch
of a fine art, of the small crofter living under what is practically a
perpetual lease, and of all the other classes of working folk, from
whom the University has drawn so largely in the past. He has
traversed widely over his estates — his recruiting adventures in 1914-
1 5 alone took him far afield, and that too under all sorts of adverse
climatic conditions. His knowledge in this respect is by no means
new in the family : it is really a reversion to a marked characteristic
in the house, having been displayed by all the original Dukes of
Gordon, notably by the fourth and fifth, who did their level best to
get posts in the army for the sons of the farmers on their estates,
and splendid officers they made, far better indeed than those chosen
in the competitive examination period.
His Grace comes to the problem of the rising generation from the
point of view of a man who has a keen perception of what will be
demanded from that generation in the shape of service to the State.
A man of Spartan personal tastes, he has much in common with the
hardy people of the north, and he should make an excellent Chancellor
during the difficult period we are now entering.
J. M. BULLOCH.
Our New Chancellor
203
Sir Adam Gordon,
came from Berwickshire : got Strathbogie, 1319
Sir Adam Gordon
I
John Gordon
Sir John Gordon (d. 1394)
" Jock " Gordon of Scurdargue
I
Sir Adam Gordon (k. 1402)
Elizabeth Gordon = Sir Alexander Seton
James of Methlick
l(?)
Patrick (k. 1452)
t(?)
James of Haddo
Alexander Gordon, jst Earl of Huntly
I (144s)
George, 2nd Earl of Huntly
Alexander, 3rd Earl of Huntly
I
Patrick of Haddo
(d. circa 1534)
George (d.v.p.)
Alexander, Bishop John, Lord Gordon (d.v.p. 1517) William, Bishop
James of Haddo
Patrick (d.v.p.)
James of Haddo ; m. sister
of Founder of Marischal
College
George (d.v.p.)
John, ist Bart. (1642)
George, 1st Earl of
Aberdeen (1682)
William, 2nd Earl of
Aberdeen
of Aberdeen ;
Chancellor,
King's College,
1515-18
George, 4th Earl of Huntly
George, 5th Earl of Huntly
George, ist Marquis of Huntly (1599)
George, 2nd Marquis of Huntly
(beheaded) ; Chancellor, King's
College, 1643-49
of Aberdeen ;
Chancellor,
King's College,
1546-77
Lewis, 3rd Marquis of
Huntly
George, 1st Duke of
Gordon (1684)
Alexander, 2nd Duke of
Gordon
George, 3rd Earl of
Aberdeen
George, Lord Haddo
(d.v.p. 1791)
George, 4th Earl of
Aberdeen ; Chancellor,
King's College 1827-
Sept., i860 ;
Chancellor, Aberdeen
University, Sept.-Dec.,
i860
Lady Catherine = Cosmo, 3rd Duke of
Gordon I Gordon
Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon ;
Chancellor, King's College, 1793-1827
George, 5th Duke of
Gordon ; 8th Marquis
of Huntly (d.s.p.m.) ;
Chancellor, Marischal
College, 1814-36
Lady Charlotte
Gordon m.
Charles (Lennox),
4th Duke of
Richmond
1
Charles, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox,
Chancellor, Marischal College, i836-Sept.,i86o;
Chancellor, Aberdeen University,
Sept. -Oct., i860
Charles, 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox ;
Duke of Richmond and Gordon ; Chancellor,
Aberdeen University, 1860-1903
Charles, Duke of Richmond and Gordon ;
Chancellor, Aberdeen University, from 1917
Charles, ist Earl of
Aboyne (1660)
Charles, 2nd Earl of
Aboyne
John, 3rd Earl of
Aboyne
Charles, 4th Earl of
Aboyne
George, 5th Earl of
Aboyne ; 9th Marquis of
Huntly
Charles, loth Marquis of
Huntly (1792-1863)
Charles, nth Marquis
of Huntly; i6th Earl
of Huntly ; Lord
Rector of Aberdeen
University, 1890-99
Our Schools and the Work that Lies Before
Them.^
iR. Chairman — Let me first thank you most cordially
for the invitation to be present here to-day. The
period during which I played my part in the ad-
ministration of Scottish Education is now distant,
and perhaps it has faded from the memory of many
present here to-day. To me it was a period which
I look back upon with pleasure. It brought me into the closest con-
tact with the great body of the teachers; and although I incurred,
often perhaps, their just criticism, yet I comfort myself with the belief
that, on the whole, they judged that 1 was their friend, animated with
the same desire as they, to do our duty jointly to our country. It is
twelve years now since my twenty years' headship of the Department
-came to an end. I indulge no fancy that the period of that ad-
ministration was the be-all and end-all of our progress. It is quite
-enough if in some ways I laid the foundation of greater things and
prepared the way for higher things that were to come after ; and, above
all, if I in some degree established a good understanding between my
Department and the education authorities and teachers throughout the
country. Whatever my shortcomings, I gratefully recognized your
generous help and your lenient judgments. It is no longer as an ad-
ministrator, but as a Scotsman to Scotsmen — I would fain hope as a
friend to friends — that I speak.
Since then I have felt it was no part of my duty to obtrude my
advice, much less to offer my criticism. I have carefully avoided this ;
and while, in connection with educational legislation, I intervened as a
member of Parliament, I never ventured to criticize the administrative
action as it moved forward under other hands. Now for the first time,
^Address at a Conference of Teachers in Glasgow, 27th January, 1917.
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 205
after twelve years' silence, I am speaking to a body of my countrymen
on education. I do so not as a critic, but as a loyal supporter of the
great work that has since been done. I speak now because it behoves
every one, to whom his country's interest weighs highest, to take part
in the great discussion which is now going on with regard to the work
that lies before our schools — a work of surpassing moment for the
public weal.
THE WORK BEFORE OUR SCHOOLS.
We are passing through the greatest ordeal that the world has
ever seen. The objects for which we are now striving with all our
energies must lead to a reconstructed Europe — not merely as regards
the map and territorial divisions, but as to the very principles upon
which future diplomacy must be based. New hopes, new aspirations,
new ideas must come to the front. The relations between the nations
must no longer depend upon dynastic considerations and strategical
conditions, but upon the instincts of the people, upon the principle of
nationality, upon the attainment of higher and stronger sanctions for
public peace. Old catchwords must pass into oblivion: new ideas
must germinate and find expression.
We are now engrossed in a gigantic struggle. But it is a part of
the problem that lies before us to weigh the issues that will have to be
faced when that struggle is over. We must begin our reconstruction
now, and we must not wait until the problem is actually upon us.
It seems to me a healthy sign that we are asking ourselves what
will be our duty to the rising generation who will have to face a new
world, and whose course will be beset by many dangers and many
hard problems, and that we should feel that, amidst all post-war work,
that question is the most important, and that it must not be postponed,
but faced now. To initiate and prepare those who are to come after
us for the work and the struggle that lies before them — that is really
what the work of education means. It never presented so many and
so great difficulties. The new generation will be impregnated with
the experiences of this war. Upon the most unthinking and the most
callous, it must leave an impression never paralleled in any previous
generation. Their lives must be shaped largely by it. Ideas and feel-
ings, the force of which we cannot now gauge, must be developed
in these young hearts and brains. The silent force of example, the
stirring of the imagination, the awakening of a new sense of individual
effort and individual responsibility — all these will be planted by this
2o6 Aberdeen University Review
tremendous experience, and they await the quickening influence and
the wise training which can develop them to the full. We must re-
member, too, that the new generation will miss many of the brightest
and best who would have been just ahead of them in the race —
full of sympathy for their difficulties, sharing their impulses, and able
to give advice and help to them, with an insight and a sense of
comradeship which we who are far removed from them by years can
never replace. The task of the State, at such a crisis, to train to the
best purpose her new recruits for the campaign that awaits us after the
war of armed forces is over, is an imperious one ; and it is a thoroughly
hopeful sign that some of the most active minds amongst us are giving
their best thoughts to forecast, and, if possible, to smooth out the
problems before us.
THE CLAIMS OF THE HUMANITIES.
It is only natural that at such a juncture there should be a desire
to throw our whole educational traditions into the crucible, and to
scheme some vast educational revolution. Be it so. Only I would
put in a word of doubt as to whether our schools have failed so much
as some facile denunciation portends. For myself, I see not a little
to be proud of in our schools and in their products. But the first
question that assails us is that of the subjects which shall be taught,
and that affords so fertile a field for bitter disputation that it naturally
attracts more interest than the more prosaic, but not less practical
question — how they shall be taught. We are all in tame agreement
over a practical policy of "Thorough": our skirmishes only begin
to be lively when we ask in what medium that policy of Thorough
is to be displayed. Then we see the dashing onslaught of the votaries
of science, and the elaborate defences, or opportunist concessions, of
the defenders of the older traditions. Both sides perhaps put forward
exaggerated claims ; and they alternate these with concessions which
are perhaps not so much suggested by mutual respect as extorted by
a plausible desire to show their own practical moderation, and so
attract support.
I am not much impressed by these proffered concessions. If we
were governed only by theory — which, fortunately, we are not — we
could come to no mutually satisfactory settlement between the claims
of the Humanities and applied Science. The type of mind, the sym-
pathy, the ideals of each party are essentially opposed, and we do not
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 207
help the matter by specious assertions that we are not really separated
after all, but are only regarding different aspects of the same truth.
Human nature is not made better and human history is not made
smoother by make-believes of peace where there is no peace. We
had better each defend our own ideals for what they are worth.
Fortunately, practical common sense will generally find a working
solution over our heads ; and if we are wise we shall learn that the
most politic course is to cultivate, as far as we may, a spirit of modera-
tion. Long experience in administration has taught me that you
•cannot injure your own cause more effectually than by putting undue
limitations upon those who would fain advance another cause in its
place. Give all ideals rope enough : time will try them and test their
efficacy.
I can safely appeal to you who know the inside of our schools to
confirm my judgment when I say that many of the most exaggerated
claims of the scientific, and what is called the practical, side in educa-
tion, are based on some ignorance of what is actually going on in our
schools to-day, and of the astonishing change in their scope and aim
which has taken place. New subjects are taught, new modern de-
velopments have supervened ; and one familiar with our schools a
generation ago would hardly recognize them now. If some think that
the mental condition which grasps natural laws and applies them to
actual life is not sufficiently cultivated (and this may be quite distinct
from the pursuit of any specific branch of science), then by all means
let them help us to cultivate that quality and to develop that mental
condition. If they find that the road to higher scientific acquirement
is barred to anyone whose faculties point that way — I take leave to
doubt the fact — then let them expose the defect and press for its
remedy. They will find an immense weight of opinion to support
them. But, as one who makes no secret of the value he attaches to
the so-called Humanities as typified in certain traditional aspects of
our education, let me give, very shortly, one or two reasons why,
personally, I deprecate their banishment from a leading position in
our schools as a course which would have disastrous results. Strange
arguments have been advanced against them. Because they have held
an almost exclusive place in the curriculum of the richest English
public schools — partly because they are specially required in the train-
ing of the professional classes — a curious idea has arisen that they aVe
in some way " snobbish " and emblematical of class and privilege. It
2o8 Aberdeen University Review
is strange that such an idea should prevail in Scotland, where such
studies have proved the very bridge which spans the space between
class and class, which has enabled the humblest to find in the teaching
of his parish school the equipment which helps him to outstrip his
more fortunate competitor, and to acquire that mental adaptability
which has made Scotsmen, the product of our Parish Schools, the
pioneers and administrators of Empire, all the world over.
THE INFLUENCE OF LITERATURE.
Again, have not these studies — weighted though they unfortunately
are with the handicap of long usage — have they not a practical use
which is often overlooked ? We all acknowledge the practical value
of linguistic facility. Cultivate it by all means. But to the young
Scotsman the world is wide, and it is difficult to foretell in what
country he may find his lot cast, and what language he may have to
acquire. By all means let our schools develop that aptitude; but
how can it be developed with so much adaptability as when it is based
upon some training in the structure of the language upon which most
modern languages are based ? How easy the path is for one who has
grasped the essential elements of Latin to acquire French, Spanish, or
Italian ! I can only adduce the facts of my own experience. I had
many contemporaries as a boy, who went early to foreign schools, or
to the care of foreign tutors, to acquire a working use of this or that
language. But, as years passed by, those who retained most fluency
in these languages, those who were most imbued with their literatures,
and those who grasped most sympathetically the history of the
countries where they were spoken, were not the early pursuers of
conversational facility, but those for whom a foundation had been laid
and a master key imparted by a classical training.
Nor can we forget how potent an influence, even in the practical
things of the world, is wielded by literature. One of its most subtle
powers is its changing note, reflecting, from generation to generation,
the spirit of the age. To grasp that spirit is one of the greatest
endowments of the highest intellects. Steep yourself only in the
language of one country, or in the utterances of one generation, and
you find yourself baffled in attempting to enter into the spirit of
another, without some key or clue. We older men would fain escape
from the enthralment of our old tastes and traditions, and catch the
spirit that breathes in the lines, let us say, of our younger poets.
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 209
What will help us best over that difficulty ? Is it not some lingering
note of harmony, some vein of deep thought, some entrancement of
noble melody that strikes true to the essential art that is enshrined
in the classical literatures that have inspired our literature and have
given the standard to the best of modern productions, and have im-
parted to them truth of essence and of form? That essential note
gives kinship and sympathy to all, and helps us to break down the
barriers of altering fashion and of ever-varying aims and ideals.
" PRACTICAL " MEN AND HUMANITARIAN TRAINING.
Lastly, I desire to call only one or two witnesses on my own side.
I shall not seek them amongst the votaries of tradition or amongst
those who have spent their lives in studious retreat or literary avoca-
tions. But no one whom I have known was a more consistent and
convinced advocate of humanitarian studies and of a basis of classical
training than Scotland's most notable man of science — Lord Kelvin.
He often spoke to me in that sense ; and in the last speech which I
heard him make — only shortly before his death, and to a small and
intimate company — he chose as his theme the wisdom of that old and
unambitious training which had done so much for those whom he had
known, and he deprecated the over-hasty zeal of fond parents who
desired for their sons an early initiation into the mysteries of elec-
tricity, and doubtless confidently predicted that by their early
specializing they would outstrip the achievements of Lord Kelvin
himself
One other witness of quite another type. Amongst many recent
utterances on education none has been more striking than a speech
made by Mr. Hichens at a London conference the other day. Mr.
Hichens is a distinguished classical son of Oxford, whom some un-
accountable freak of fate has transformed — after what ought, one
would suppose, to have been an insurmountable handicap— into the
Chairman of Cammell, Lairds, one of the largest industrial organiza-
tions of the country. It might be thought that one who had escaped
to higher levels and clearer air would have little to say to that general
humanitarian training, and would have looked back with regret to
useless studies which had so little practical bearing on his life's work.
But what does he say with the practical experience of a man guiding
a vast industrial concern? That "specialized education at school
was of no practical use ". What was wanted was that old-fashioned
14
2IO Aberdeen University Review
demand which is inconvenient enough still to obtrude itself — " stability
and moral strength of character" ; and that is something which im-
plies intellectual no less than moral qualities. " He ventured to
think," he went on, " that the tendency of modern education was
often in the wrong direction, that too little attention was paid to the
foundation, and too much to a showy superstructure." " Parents
wanted an immediate return in kind, and forgot that education con-
sisted in tilling the ground and sowing the seed, and that the seed
must grow of itself." A leader in commerce, he deprecates most
strongly the tendency to commercialize education. Such a tendency
is popular, is specious, and sounds as if it were up to date. The only
defect of it is that it is profoundly and radically wrong, that it works
its own revenge, and that it nips the very root of all that is finest in
your work.
So much for these old and internecine feuds which we need not
think to bury by merely glozing them over with fine words. My
predilections for one type of training may be entirely wrong : I have
no right to presume their truth. But of this I am absolutely certain —
that whatever subject we choose, unless it has something in it more
than a fancied practical aim, it is empty of all real and permanent
value and is the very negative of true education.
IMPROVEMENTS DESIDERATED.
And of one other thing we may be certain, and that is— that
however we may compromise our disputes, we shall commit the
worst error of all if we try to compromise by crowding a great
variety of subjects into the curriculum. I do not wish you to be
tied to certain subjects, but I do urge you to resist the dissipation of
your own and your scholars' time and power by crowding your cur-
riculum (whatever it is) by a confusing multiplicity of subjects. That
way madness and irretrievable error lie. Simplicity of curriculum ;
thoroughness rather than variety ; the awakening of individual energy
rather than the spoon-feeding that minimizes effort— these are the
very buttresses of your work, and it is with the help of these alone
that you can raise it to its full dignity and value. Its place in the
Commonwealth will only be properly recognized when this truth is
admitted. Simplicitas simplicitatum, omnia simplicitas.
One thing more I will say. You will never produce good results
unless you have a great amount of initiative. Whatever my faults as
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 211
an administrator, I did my best to strike the fetters from the arms of
the teachers. Much depends upon the individual tastes and capacities
of the teacher. Give him power to shape his own course and he will
give his pupils the best that is in him. Force a prescribed course
upon him, check his tastes and his idiosyncrasies, and he will give
them his worst. A school with initiative may not always be good.
A school without initiative will most certainly be bad.
But how are we to help our schools, by practical administrative
methods, to perform the work that lies before them after the war?
Differ as we may regarding methods of teaching, we must agree about
the essentials — that it is the spirit animating the work, rather than
the subject matter, which is of real importance. How are we to
devise the best conditions of work ?
For myself, I must say at once, that I have little faith in Com-
mittees or Commissions. Let the Government place its scheme
before us. Let the main, broad principles be decided in free
debate : and then let the details be worked out by those who are
practically concerned with the work of the schools. It is not from
Committees of experts, however wise, that real progress will come.
I trust to a far surer inspiration. The nation is alive to-day. It will
be stirred by new energies and new impulses when victory is attained
and peace reconstruction begins. It will shape its schools according
to its own spirit, and will make them responsive to its new energy of
impulse. So England shaped her schools in the stirring epoch that
preceded " the spacious times of great Elizabeth ". So Scotland,
rising to a wider place in the world, inspired the Parish Schools that
helped to make her what she became. So now a nation, purified,
strengthened, inspired by a great ordeal, will make her schools new
centres of light and leading.
There are — let us not close our eyes to it — grave difficulties to
face. We have perhaps too long been accustomed to think that
profuse expenditure was identical with high efficiency. More than
once, speaking in Scotland during my official life, I raised a warning
note as to the possible diminishing of the copious and even lavish
stream of public expenditure. My words were not heeded, and I
used to hear with some misgiving public utterances to the effect that
the nation was to be the more congratulated, the larger was her bill for
Education, and that in that sphere alone thrift was a grievous error.
I do not think such utterances were wise, and 1 think that sometimes
212 Aberdeen University Review
they led to serious mistakes and to regrettable extravagance. No
one would grudge, upon this vital interest, any money that was well
spent. I am not sure that it was all well spent. I am sure that no
adequate proportion of it was spent in the one most essential and
most remunerative form of expenditure in our schools — viz., the
guerdon of our teachers.
How are we to provide for greater prudence and more judicious
expenditure in the future ?
THE ENLARGEMENT OF SCHOOL AREAS.
It requires no Committee of Experts to tell us that administration
is best when it is in the hands of men of wide views and balanced
judgment, and, further, that you are most likely to command the
services of such men if you give them adequate spheres of duty and
large responsibilities. This would be accomplished by a bold enlarge-
ment of school areas, which would group together a larger number of
schools, would provide a more adequate path of advancement in the
profession, and would free teachers from the tyranny of small parochial
cliques and at the same time buttress them against the deadening
uniformity of central administration. I have never been able to
persuade myself that the so-called municipalizing of school adminis-
tration, after the English fashion, was any great advantage in itself,
or was likely to be welcomed in Scotland. I think a man is best
chosen with a view to the work he has to do, and I do not see the
benefit of slumping education with many multifarious functions,
which may easily snow it under, and weigh far more than it with
the members of the local Parliament. One body may very well
legislate for various subjects ; but I doubt if one body can with
advantage administer many diverse executives. As regards that,
however, I am open to conviction : as regards larger school areas,
it seems to me that all the arguments go one way. In the last
Education Bill with which I had any concern, this enlargement
formed a central feature. That Bill did not become law and I
strove, without success, to include the enlargement in the Bill of
1908. I failed, but I think that it is essential that the matter should
be reconsidered at the earliest opportunity. I desire it in the interest
of the teaching profession, but not in that interest alone.
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 213
TEACHERS AND THE NEW SPIRIT.
It might have been considered suitable that coming, as I do, to
address an audience of teachers, largely my own constituents, who
have a right to demand of me careful attention to their interests, I
should have made the principal topic of my speech those important
aspects of the educational administration that vitally affect these
personal interests. I have purposely refrained from doing so, and
I do not believe that it would be your wish that I should do so.
Your part in a great national work is far too big to be treated on
that level. The recognition of its vital importance by the whole
nation, the newly-stirred interest and the fresh impulse imparted
to it by our great ordeal, and by the inspiration of the great task
which faces our race, make the personal aspect a secondary one. Our
schools must reflect the new spirit which will rise far above any rules,
or codes, or curricula, which will be independent of all choice of
subject, and which appeal to all that is best and strongest in the new
generation. The new vistas that open before the eyes of that genera-
tion will make their own appeal. The new forces will be restless,
impulsive, but full of energy. It will be for our schools to answer
that trumpet call, and to apply that discipline, that training, that
moral and intellectual strength which will guide these young bat-
talions to march forward to the victories which they will have to win
in the wider future that is opening before them. It is not by spoon-
feeding that this character and grit can be attained. The wise teacher
will know how to elicit it. You won't help him to do it by any
amount of curricula and prescribed schemes and lectures upon theory.
He must be able to teach the need of the struggle which is the best
part of education.
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them : " Hold on I "
The teacher who imparts that magic power is not the creature of
codes and instructions and prescribed schemes — he is the master-spirit
who must be attracted to our schools, and given a fair field of work
there. If teachers are to do this, they must themselves have that
moral and intellectual force ; and the degree to which they possess it
will depend — not upon codes and schemes and regulations, but on the
214 Aberdeen University Review
personal element represented by the teacher. The great army of our
teachers must be intellectually equipped by the highest training, must
be inspired by missionary zeal, alive with high ideals and full of ener-
getic initiative. It is not in your interest alone, it is in the interest of
the nation, that I would urge the supreme importance of this personal
element in the school, the necessity of developing it by every possible
means, the duty that lies upon the nation of applying all the incentives
that will attract the best class of recruits for that scholastic army,
and will free them from sordid cares, so that they throw their undivided
energy into the work and make the school a centre of cheerful and
buoyant activity, of close sympathy with the highest ideals and the
truest patriotism of the nation.
BETTER PAY FOR TEACHERS.
We have, in Scotland, great educational traditions, and they have
proved their value. But we have always underpaid and starved our
teachers, and now perhaps more than ever. It is about eighty years
since the first educational grants were made by the State. They
amounted to little more than ;^3o,ooo ; now, what with taxes and
rates, they amount to almost as many millions. Roughly, I calculate
that the expenditure in these eighty years has been something like
;£700,ooo,ooo, and that of the last twenty years has been almost equal
to that of the preceding sixty. We have built costly schools, we have
furnished elaborate equipment, we have an expensive administrative
machinery. How much have we increased the most essential matter
— that payment of the teacher, who is and must be the soul of the
school ? Only a paltry part of the whole vast expenditure has gone to
this most needful of all expenditure. We have added a little to his
remuneration ; but, taking into account the cost of living and the
swelling recompense allowed in every other line of life, his pay now is
niggardly; and in this niggardliness the nation is blind to its own
highest interest.
And now, when pressure comes, and when the pinch of poverty is
felt in many places, the effect is seen. War bonuses are matters of
extreme difficulty and delicacy. The strain on the nation would not
be relieved if all were helped whose incomes were diminished. That
would only exaggerate the strain. Where remuneration has been on
an adequate scale, each man must bear for himself the burden of ad-
ditional thrift and curtail his expenditure. But where the payment is
Our Schools and the Work Before Them 215
barely sufficient, a new strain, like the present, means hopeless poverty.
It is a scandal that a great profession essential to the public weal is so
paid that there is no room for thrift. The nation must then come to
its relief and we must hope that in carrying out that duty, it will be as
generous as the burden on the public purse permits. The Department
has, not a moment too soon, offered to bear its share if localities co-
operate. I trust that there may be a full response, and that local
authorities will not only meet the minimum proposed by the Depart-
ment, but, where they can do so, will go even further in that
direction.
But this only relieves the difficulty for the moment. It is far
more important that when reconstruction comes we should take care
that no such emergency shall again arise. It is unworthy of this
country that a great profession upon which a task so essential in the
public interest is laid, should be so remunerated that what to others
means a curtailment of all useless expenditure, involves, for that pro-
fession, a lack of the necessities of life and such a pinch of poverty
that an emergency dole must be measured out to it. All our
awakened interest in the work of our schools, all our discussions as
to the means of enhancing their efficiency, lead to the same conclu-
sion— that it is the spirit of the school, the zeal and enthusiasm of its
work, that constitute the essential condition of success and that these
must depend upon the personality of the teacher, the freedom and
independence of his position, and the initiative left to him. In the
interests of the Empire, in order to develop the best qualities of our
race, that we may rightly do our duty to those who are to come after
us — and that is one of our most imperious duties — we must attract to
the service of our schools a body of teachers of high ability, of ample
training, and of an energy which demands that the incentive of high
ambition shall not be denied it. We may have to curtail expenditure
and to practise thrift — in our schools as elsewhere. But we cannot,
without culpable neglect and wilful blindness, starve those who con-
stitute the vital element in school work, or refrain from offering to
that profession those incentives which can attract to it its due share
of the moral and intellectual force of the nation.
Gentlemen, as an old and devoted friend, I wish you well in your
great work, and any help that I can give you, so long as life remains,
will be freely given. The best hope for you, the best hope for the
schools, the best hope for the nation, is that the nation should recog-
nize betimes what is at once its interest and its duty.
H. CRAIK.
University Development in South Africa,
|HE last three years have been to most of the Univer-
sities of the British Empire a time of stress and
difficulty. A large proportion of their students
and staff have forsaken the academic quietness for
the noise of battle and are doing valiant duty at
the front in defence of liberty and right. At such
a time one might expect that everything in the
way of University development would be altogether in abeyance.
Yet, curiously enough, the year 191 6 has seen in South Africa the
most important change in University arrangements which has occurred
since 1873, when the University of the Cape of Good Hope was
founded. The Parliament of the Union of South Africa in that
year passed three bills constituting, instead of the one examining
University, three Universities — the University of Cape Town (with
which is incorporated the South African College), the University of
Stellenbosch, and the federal University of South Africa. Seeing
that many sons of the old University of Aberdeen have made their
home in South Africa and have played no inconsiderable part in
educational matters there, it may not be without interest to the
readers of the Review if I give a brief account of how the present
situation has been reached.
Higher education must depend on a foundation of elementary
education, and it was the want of this necessary requisite in South
Africa which for a long period made the development of anything
worth calling higher education an impossibility. It must be re-
membered that South Africa is a land of enormous distances and
very scanty population. If this be true even now, it was still more
true in the early days during the time of Dutch rule and in the first
half-century after British occupation. In Cape Town, where, from
1652, when Van Riebeck first founded a Dutch settlement, there
was always a certain fixed population, there was some provision
University Development in South Africa 217
made for education, and gradually, as various centres arose in dif-
ferent parts of the country, the provision for the religious needs of
the population was generally accompanied by some arrangement, in
connection with the churches which were established, for the ele-
mentary education of the parishioners. It was, however, very diffi-
cult to reach the scattered population, living on isolated farms, far
from any village or town ; and, indeed, the problem of reaching this
class of the people and bringing education within their reach is still
one of the difficult problems of the country. It may be said generally
that elementary education was in a very haphazard and unsatisfactory
position, to a great extent depending on the efforts of individual
Dutch Reformed Church ministers, until the earlier part of last
century, when attempts began to be made to bring some system
into the chaos. It is not necessary for my purpose to go into much
detail regarding the various schemes put forward at various times, but
one or two landmarks may be indicated. In 1838, Sir John Herschel,
the well-known astronomer, addressed to the Governor of that day,
Sir George Napier, a memorandum regarding a scheme for the im-
provement of public education ; and in consequence of this and of
various suggestions made by others, notably Mr. John Fairbairn, the
editor of the chief newspaper in Cape Town of that time, a new system
was adopted, which was named the Herschel system. Under this,
two classes of schools were established, elementary and classical, with
teachers paid at a fixed rate by Government. In order to carry out
this scheme, a Superintendent-General of Education was appointed,
and the first to occupy this position was Mr. James Rose-Innes, a
graduate of Aberdeen University, who received subsequently the
degree of LL.D. from the same University. He introduced a con-
siderable number of Scotch graduates for the classical schools, and it
may be said that then began the close connection between South
Africa and Scotland in educational matters — a connection which has
been continued to the present day.
In 1859, Dr. (afterwards Sir) Langham Dale was appointed
Superintendent-General of Education, and in 1865 a new principle
was adopted. The schools of the Colony were divided into three
classes — the highest class being supposed to carry pupils far enough
to matriculate at the University — and local committees were appointed,
elected by guarantors who had to make good any deficit on the work-
ing of the schools. The schools were no longer free, but grants in aid
2i8 Aberdeen University Review
were made by the Government for their support. This system con-
tinued with some modifications till 1905 when, under the regime of
Dr. (now Sir) Thomas Muir, a system of popularly-elected school
boards was inaugurated. The various changes have had a marked
effect on general education in the country, and to Sir Thomas Muir
we owe a very great improvement in all directions in the standard of
school education.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN COLLEGE.
It will be seen from the above brief outline that not much in the
way of higher education could be looked for in the earlier days. Apart
from some attempts in the way of private ventures, nothing very de-
finite was done until the year 1828, when a vigorous movement arose
in Cape Town for the provision of something better in the way of edu-
cation than was provided by the then existing schools. This move-
ment was taken up impartially by both Dutch and English men of
leading, and support was given to it from all parts of the country.
The result was the foundation in the following year, 1829, of the
South African College, which has continued from that time to occupy
the leading place in higher education in South Africa, and which is
now in process of transformation into the University of Cape Town.
The institution was at first a joint stock company, with a large number
of shareholders, but, it is perhaps needless to say, no dividends were
ever paid, and it very soon ceased to have the character of a private
venture, and in 1837 became a public institution with two directors
appointed by the Governor, the remainder being still elected by the
subscribers. At a later period, in 1878, the whole constitution of the
College was reorganized, and the governing body or Council came to
consist of nine members — three appointed by the Government, three
by the University Council, and three by Life Governors and past
graduated students. This constitution, with a slight modification in
1904, when any local body subscribing ;^I500 a year to the College
was entitled to elect an additional representative on the College
Council, continued until the present time. The institution of the
South African College was undoubtedly a great step in advance for
education, but it must not be supposed that the new College was
anything like an adequately-equipped College, much less a University.
It was practically a sort of grammar-school, with at first a rather
meagre staff" of four professors, who were supposed to cover all the
University Development iii South Africa 219
essential subjects in the scope of their teaching. The one promising
feature about the institution was that it had high aims and therefore-
had within it the principle of growth, although for a long period that
growth was very slow. It was fortunate, on the whole, in the men
whom it secured as teachers, and many of them are still gratefully
remembered in South Africa as having left behind them deep traces-
of their influence through the men who were their pupils and who
have played a prominent part in the history of South Africa.
Another landmark in the history of higher education in South*
Africa was the institution in 1858 of a Board of Examiners in
Literature and Science. It had come gradually to be felt that some-
standard of attainment had to be established in connection with ap-
pointments in the Civil Service and also in such professional subjects
as law and surveying, and opportunity was taken, while providing for
these necessities, to establish also examinations which would correspond
to some extent to examinations for the degrees of Bachelor and Master
of Arts. In 1865 another examination of a lower standard was insti-
tuted, corresponding to a matriculation examination. This new board
undoubtedly did a good deal to stimulate higher education by putting,
before students a distinctive course and certain valuable rewards in the-
shape of eligibility for public posts, and it became a common thing;
for students of the South African College and others to pass the
various examinations. This board continued to exist for fifteen
years.
AN EXAMINING UNIVERSITY.
A further step was taken in 1873, largely through the efforts of
the Hon. William Porter, a distinguished politician of the day, who
became the first Vice-Chancellor of the University. An Act was-
passed creating a new University, which was to supersede the Board
of Examiners and to institute various examinations leading to degrees.
This University was, to a great extent, modelled after the University
of London, and was to be purely an examining University, with no
provision for teaching and with no connection with any teaching
institution, no distinction being made between the private student
and the student from any College. This University has continued
to exist and to be in many ways the central pivot of higher education
in South Africa until this year ; and it will continue to exercise its
functions for the ensuing year or two which will necessarily elapse-
220 Aberdeen University Review
before the newly-constituted Universities can be put into shape and
commence their activities. Certain modifications were made in the
constitution of the University in 1896, chiefly in the direction of
increasing the number of members of the University Council and of
including representatives from other colonies besides the Cape Colony,
to which originally the University was confined ; but its essential fea-
tures as a purely examining University remained unchanged. These
were emphasized in its constitution by a clause regarding the appoint-
ment of examiners : ** The said Council, in appointing such examiners,
shall avoid, as much as may be, appointing any person to be an
examiner of any candidate who shall have been under the tuition of
such examiner at any time during the two years next before the
examination ". As we shall see later, a good deal of latitude had
perforce to be given to the interpretation of the words '* as much as
may be ".
RIVALS TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN COLLEGE.
It will be convenient at this point, before following the fortunes
of the University further, to take up the history of the teaching
institutions which supplied most of the candidates for the various
examinations of the University. As we have seen, the South African
College was the oldest of these, and continued for a considerable time
to be the only so-called College in South Africa which devoted at least
some of its energies to subjects beyond the range of the ordinary school.
In 1849, almost twenty years after the foundation of the South African
College, there sprang up in the suburbs of Cape Town a school in
connection with the Episcopalian Church which gradually developed
until it became for a considerable time a formidable rival to the older
institution. It aimed at being a reproduction of an English public
school and had the advantage, denied to the South African College,
which was within the City of Cape Town, of having a splendid site
and unlimited accommodation for playing-fields, etc. It became
well known as the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, or more familiarly
as " Bishop's " ; and amongst its alumni are many of the well-known
public and professional men of South Africa. Under the provisions
of the Higher Education Act, which followed almost immediately on
the constitution of the University, and which gave Government grants
on a definite scale to professors at recognized colleges, the Diocesan
University Development in South Africa 221
College continued for many years to have a College Department in
addition to its school, and prepared students for the various Univer-
sity examinations. Latterly, however, the great development of the
South African College caused a considerable decline in the College
Department of the Diocesan College, and it came gradually to be felt
that it was rather a waste of energy to have two competing institutions
in such close proximity. Ultimately, in 191 1, an agreement was come
to, which was ratified by the Legislature, whereby the Diocesan Col-
lege ceased to be a College under the Higher Education Act, three
of its professors being transferred to the staff of the South African
College and certain privileges being granted to its alumni in connec-
tion with the election of the Council of the South African College.
The College, however, still continues to flourish as a higher class
school.
A more permanent rival to the South African College came into
existence in 1 874, at the time of the establishment of the University.
Stellenbosch, a considerable village of some 5000 inhabitants, about
thirty miles from Cape Town, beautifully situated among oak trees
and wine and fruit farms, is one of the oldest settlements in the
colony, and has always held a prominent place in the affections of
the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of South Africa. It has been for a
long time the centre of education for the ministers of the Dutch
Reformed Church, and thus was marked out as the natural centre
for a College which would appeal more to the Dutch-speaking
population. The College thus founded grew rapidly in importance,
was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1881, and assumed the
name of Victoria College in 1886. It had behind it, to a large
extent, the influence of the Dutch Reformed clergy, and it soon
became a formidable rival to the older South African College, and
for some time surpassed it in the number of its students. Latterly,
the older College has again forged considerably ahead ; but the two
rivals have advanced to a great extent along similar lines, and in staff
and equipment they far surpass any of the other Colleges. The rivalry
of the two institutions has had, as we shall see, a great influence on the
history of University development, and the past year has seen the
settlement of their rivalry in both alike being promoted to the rank
of Universities.
222 Aberdeen University Review
RECENT UNIVERSITY COLLEGES.
The Other University Colleges are of comparatively recent date,
although in two cases they are developments from older foundations.
The Grey College, at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, owes
its name and foundation to the well-known Governor of the Cape,
Sir George Grey, in 1858, and has had an honourable history as the
chief educational institution in the Free State. It was mostly of the
nature of a high-class school, but prepared occasional pupils for the
degree examinations of the Cape University. On the eve of Union,
it was determined by the Parliament of the Free State to convert the
Grey College into a higher institution as a University College, and
new buildings were erected and a professional staff appointed. Con-
siderable progress has been made both in numbers and equipment,
and the College will now form one of the constituents of the Federal
University which was created last year.
The Rhodes University College is also a development from an
older institution. St. Andrew's College, at Grahamstown, in the
Eastern part of the Cape Province, was an institution founded in
1855, under the aegis of the Episcopal Church, somewhat on the
•same lines as the Diocesan College at Rondebosch, and, like the
latter, played an important part in the progress of education. The
gradually-increasing demand for higher education in that part of the
<:olony led, in 1878, to the development of a College department,
which, though inadequately equipped, did a large amount of good
-work and sent out many men who have made their mark in the life
of this country. In 1904, by the aid of a large benefaction from the
Rhodes Trustees, a separation of the College department from St.
Andrew's College was effected, and the new College, under the name
of Rhodes College, was incorporated as a University College. Its
progress has been very marked since.
At Johannesburg in 1904 there was founded, in the first instance
with a view to technical instruction in mining, the great industry of
that part of the country, an important institution which for some time
went under the name of the Transaval Technical Institute. In 1908,
a department for instruction in Arts and Science was instituted at
Pretoria, and the two institutions were placed under the direction of
a common Council. This arrangement, however, did not work satis-
factorily, and in 1910 a separation was effected, the Pretoria institution
University Development in South Africa 223
becoming the Transvaal University College, while the Johannesburg
institution took the name of the South African School of Mines and
Technology. A large and expensive block of buildings was opened
in 1909 for the use of the Johannesburg School, and in 191 1 new
buildings were opened for the College at Pretoria.
The Natal University College, at Maritzburg, came into existence
in 1909, just before the consummation of the Union of South Africa.
It has not yet had much time to develop, and is still weak in the
number of its students and its general equipment.
The Huguenot College at Wellington dates back to 1898, but its
incorporation as a College took place in 1907. It stands in a different
position from all the other Colleges in being intended for women
students only, although a few men students, chiefly residents in the
neighbourhood, have attended its classes. It has always had a close
association with the United States of America, has received liberal
benefactions from citizens of that country, and its staff of female pro-
fessors has been also largely recruited from the same quarter. It has
had somewhat of an uphill fight, as all the Colleges admit women
students, but it has a keen esprit de corps of its own, and, with the
distinctively religious tone by which it has always been characterized,
it undoubtedly fulfils a very distinct mission.
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE COLLEGES.
We may resume now the history of the University proper. Its
institution had undoubtedly a very stimulating effect upon higher
education, and led to great development in the way of provision for
more satisfactory teaching at the Colleges of the subjects covered by
its curricula. In another direction also it extended its influence
beyond the scope of University work proper ; and, no doubt with the
view of improving the standard of the schools of the country, it insti-
tuted, very soon after its foundation, an elementary examination in
ordinary school subjects, which proved very popular and led to a good
deal of wholesome and unwholesome rivalry among the schools.
Another examination of a more advanced type, called the School
Higher Examination, was instituted in 1880, and was also, so far as
the number of examinees was concerned, a great success. It cannot
be gainsaid that these examinations did a considerable amount of good
in stirring up the schools, but they also undoubtedly fostered the
craze for examination results as the be-all and end-all of teaching, and
224 Aberdeen University Review
they also seriously interfered with the functions of the Education
Department, and made the curriculum of the schools largely dependent
on the outside dictation of the University. These objections led to
the abolition of the elementary examination a few years ago, but the
School Higher, under the name of the Junior Certificate, remains to
the present time, and, though many object to it, it is regarded gener-
ally as a useful leaving certificate for those pupils who are not likely
to go on to matriculation. The matriculation examination of the
University has also had a rather curious development. It has become
not merely an entrance examination to the University but a leaving
certificate for the first-class schools, and is every year taken by
hundreds of pupils who have no intention of continuing their studies*
This effect has been contributed to by the fact that this examination
is accepted as a qualification in many departments of public and pro-
fessional life.
It has been already noted that there was no integral connection in
any way between the University and the Colleges. To the University
the student from a college and the private student stood on exactly
the same level. But the constitution of the University Council, where-
by half the members were elected by Convocation, brought the Colleges
and the University into a connection which, though not explicitly
recognized, was nevertheless of great importance and had far-reaching
effects. Convocation consists of the graduates of the University,
whether by examination or by admission ad eundem graduniy and as,
naturally, most of these graduates were connected with one or other
of the teaching Colleges, the tendency was more and more to elect
members of the teaching staffs of these Colleges as the Convocation
members of the University Council. Latterly, in fact, the Colleges,
before the election, settled the number which each institution was,
according to its relative importance, entitled to elect, and these nomi-
nees of the Colleges were almost sure of election. To the Convocation
members of the Council, as experts in various branches of knowledge,
there naturally fell a large proportion of the more academic side of
Council business and of Committee work, and the great widening of
the scope of the University examinations and the gradual inclusion of
a wide range of subjects, as compared with the originally narrow range
of the Arts course, are undoubtedly, to a large extent, owing to this
element in the University Council. Another step leading in the
direction of more intimate connection between the University and the
University Development in South Africa 225
Colleges was taken by the Council a few years ago. A sort of informal
senate, not sanctioned by any Parliamentary enactment, was created
by the University Council by the recognition of what were termed the
Literature and Science Committees, which also met as a Joint Com-
mittee. These committees consisted of the professors of the various
Colleges under the Higher Education Act, together with members of
Council, and met annually for some days to discuss questions of
syllabus in various subjects, questions of changes in examinations and
standards, and various kindred subjects. The Council, though still
retaining its power of veto, gave considerable importance to these
Committees by undertaking to consult them first before making im-
portant changes in courses of study, etc. These Committees met at
various College centres in South Africa in rotation, and there can be
no doubt that their meetings did a great deal to create interest in
University matters, and pave the way for developments in the future
by the free interchange of opinions.
THE TEACHING UNIVERSITY IDEA.
In spite, however, of all the widening influences at work in the
old University, there was gradually growing up a strong body of
opinion that the old bottles were becoming too weak to hold the new
wine. The idea of a Teaching University was warmly cherished by
many, and, as time went on and the Colleges became stronger and
better equipped, the disadvantages of a merely examining University^
became more and more acutely felt. Professors who were keenly
interested in their own subjects resented the position into which they
were forced of being " coaches " for outside examinations, and of
having the scope of their teaching limited by syllabuses imposed from
without. The whole system was felt to be an incentive to cramming
rather than to education. This cramping influence was naturally
most resented by the larger and stronger Colleges, which had to take
their pace, to a large extent, from the smaller and weaker ones. Other
disadvantages of an Examining University were intensified by the
circumstances of the country. As we have seen, the University Act
practically forbade teachers to be employed as examiners, and it will
readily be seen that in a country like South Africa the number of
experts in various subjects, outside the teaching staff of the various
Colleges, was necessarily extreipely limited. Hence arose the greatest
difficulty in securing competent examiners, and frequent dissatisfaction
15
2 26 Aberdeen University Review
with those who were appointed. So acute did this difficulty grow
that of late years teachers have perforce been appointed in many cases,
with cumbrous safeguards surrounding their appointment, such as the
preparation of papers after the College teaching year was over, or the
appointment of a number of teachers from various Colleges to examine
the same paper. Another acute difficulty arose in connection with
the examinations in scientific subjects. Practical laboratory work
was naturally regarded by science professors as a most essential part
of their teaching, and yet, owing to the enormous extent of the country
and the impracticability of gathering the candidates together to any
common laboratory centre, examination in practical work has been
hitherto most unsatisfactory, and all the makeshift expedients employed
have been felt to be more or less a failure.
These and many other causes of dissatisfaction with the existing
system of things were gradually influencing men's minds, but there
were many obstacles in the way of any solution of the difficulties of
the situation. There was the financial difficulty of equipping a Uni-
versity with adequate buildings and staff, and there were, above all,
the mutual jealousies of existing institutions, which foresaw ruin to
their vested interests in such an institution. The first ray of hope for
a practical solution of the difficulties may be said to have come twenty-
five years ago, when Mr. Cecil Rhodes gave expression to his wish to
found a Teaching University which would be a rallying place for all
the youth of South Africa, and do something to break down the
barriers of race feeling which have always been the bane of this
country.
Some of us hailed this prospect with great delight, and in 1891
I gave a lecture in Cape Town on the University question, advocating
a single Teaching University and the conversion of the existing Col-
leges into Secondary Schools or Gymnasia for preparing students for
entrance to the University. Unfortunately for our hopes, the strongest
opposition was offered to Mr. Rhodes' idea by the Dutch section of
the community, who regarded the College at Stellenbosch as the centre
of their influence in education, and considered that the establish-
ment of a University at Cape Town, in such close proximity, would
spell ruin to that institution. Mr. Rhodes, who was then working in
pretty close political connection with the Dutch party, was induced
to drop his idea in face of this opposition, although to some of us he
expressed his intention of carrying out his project still, if not, as he
University Development in South Africa 227
said, in his lifetime, at least after his death. It may be said, in passing,
that the grandiose scheme of Rhodes' Scholarships, into which his
posthumous benefaction resolved itself, was to the minds of some of
us a poor substitute for his earlier idea. Yet it would be ungrateful
to the memory of that great man to forget that his intention has very
directly led to the present development, and that the site he intended
for his Teaching University on his lovely estate of Groote Schuur will,
before long, be used for the purpose he had in view.
THE AFFILIATION PRINCIPLE.
Amongst those who were eager for some change in the existing
state of things there was a very large section whose aim was to bring
about some integral connection between the Colleges and the Uni-
versity rather than the creation of a Teaching University. They
aimed at some system of federation or affiliation. It may be said
generally that this solution of the University problem was favoured
by nearly all the Colleges except the South African College. At the
end of 1904 the Senate of the South African College appointed a
committee, of which I was a member, to investigate the whole question
of University education and to gather information from every possible
source which might help to throw light on the question in South Africa.
The committee did its work very thoroughly, and sent to all parts of
the world a series of questions on every vital point connected with
the inception and growth and constitution of the various Universities.
This evidence was collected, tabulated, and published in 1905, and
created a good deal of attention and public discussion. The con-
clusion of the committee, based on a great mass of evidence, was
distinctly against federation or affiliation and in favour of a single-
college Teaching University. It advised the Senate to aim at a
separate charter for the College as the University of Cape Town,
and meanwhile, with a view to this, to do everything possible to
promote the development of the College. As a consequence of this
direct challenge, the University Council sent out to the various Col-
leges a series of questions with a view to eliciting their opinion as to
the changes, if any, which they thought necessary in the existing
system. It is unnecessary to go into any detail in regard to the
answers, but it may be said generally that, with the exception of the
South African College, the Colleges expressed their desire for some
form of affiliation or federation.
22 8 Aberdeen University Review
A further step of some importance in the discussion of the question
was taken in the following year, 1906, when, at a meeting at Bloem-
fontein of the Superintendents-General of Education of the several
Colonies then existing, various suggestions were formulated regarding
University education. As a direct sequence to this meeting, there
was summoned by Lord Selborne in 1908 an Inter-Colonial Con-
ference on University Education, which met at Cape Town in
February and sat for ten days. Six members, of whom I was one,
represented Cape Colony, two Natal, three Transvaal, two Orange
River Colony (as it was then called), one Southern Rhodesia. The
general trend of opinion may be gauged by the fact that, when I
proposed the institution of a single Teaching University, I found no
seconder. The Conference was a very interesting one, but it would
serve no purpose to detail the scheme it evolved. It is sufficient to
quote its second resolution — *' That this Conference is of opinion that,
under existing circumstances, the best solution of the University
question will be the establishment of a South African University
with constituent or affiliated colleges ".
GIFTS FOR UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
For some years after the Conference the University question was
somewhat in abeyance. To effect any change legislation was neces-
sary, and the attention of legislators and of the public generally was
absorbed for a considerable time in the question of the Union of the
Colonies of South Africa. Even after the Union was successfully
accomplished, the attention of Parliament was, naturally, for some
time directed to many questions which required solution in order to
make Union more effective. There seemed for a time a danger that
the University problem, as being a knotty one, and, from the
politician's point of view, likely to arouse dissension in party circles,
would be left severely alone. It required some new impulse to bring
the matter once more into prominence. This new factor was intro-
duced by the offer of a large sum of money for the purposes of
University education by financiers on whom, to some extent, the
mantle of Mr. Cecil Rhodes had fallen.
Mr. Alfred Beit, in 1904, made a gift of the estate of Frankenwald,
in the neighbourhood of Johannesburg, ** to be used in perpetuity by
the Government of the Transvaal for educational purposes of all kinds
and solely and only for such purposes," and provision was made for
University Development in South Africa 229
its transfer to any University or other body which might be consti-
tuted for such purposes. In 1905 he bequeathed ;f 200,000 for a
University to be erected on this estate, the income of this money
to be used for educational purposes meanwhile, but he stipulated
that the amount should revert to his estate if it were not utilized
within ten years from his death. He died in 1906, so that last
year was the limit time for the application of the money. No
successful attempt was made in the Transvaal to meet the terms
of the bequest, and when the first Union Ministry was formed in
1 910, a new aspect was put upon the question by the action of
General Smuts, who has since added so much to his lustre by his
distinguished services in German West and German East Africa.
He wrote to Mr. Otto Beit, the brother of Mr. Alfred Beit and the
inheritor of his wealth, and to Sir Julius Wernher, his friend and
partner, that it might be possible, if the sum promised were increased,
say, to half a million, to establish a national University on the estate
of Groote Schuur. This letter received a generous response. Sir
Julius Wernher promised ;£"200,ooo to be added to the Beit bequest,
and he and Mr. Otto Beit promised an additional ;^ 100,000 between
them, thus making up the half million.
This munificent offer was announced at the opening of the first
Union Parliament in November, 1910, and naturally excited a good
deal of enthusiasm. Shortly afterwards an additional ;^2 5,000 was
promised by the De Beers Consolidated Mines. There was thus
provided a very respectable sum for University purposes, but the
question had still to be solved how it was to be utilized. The task
of finding this solution rested mainly on the shoulders of the Hon.
F. S. Malan, the Minister of Education, and he found the problem a
very knotty one. The first attempt at a solution was made in 191 1,
and was received so coldly both by the donors of the money and by
the University Council and other academic bodies that it never got
beyond the form of a draft bill and never came before Parliament
Its provisions were, briefly, that the new University at Groote Schuur
should be a post-graduate University for advanced study and research,
and that the ordinary subjects of study for degrees, etc., should be
still carried on at the various existing Colleges. It was generally felt
that such a post-graduate University would be somewhat of a white
elephant in a country like South Africa, where the number of post-
graduate and research students would necessarily for a long time be
230 Aberdeen University Review
very small, and might very conceivably be smaller than the number
of professors and staff which would be required for such an advanced
institution.
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS.
In 1 91 3 a second attempt was made by Mr. Malan to solve the
knotty problem. A bill was framed and introduced into Parliament
constituting a new " University of South Africa " with its central seat
at Groote Schuur, and, by the terms of the bill, the Government
renounced its right to the benefits of the Beit bequest although the ten
years had not elapsed, and proposed to apply this bequest along with
the bequest of Sir Julius Wernher to the benefit of the new University.
The features of the bill to which attention and criticism were at once
directed were : (i) that the entrance to the new University was to be,
not matriculation, but the intermediate examination, an examination
which took place normally at the end of the first of the three years
necessary for the B.A. course ; (2) that the various Colleges were to
constitute local faculties, with direct representation on the Council
and Senate of the University, and the examinations of students were
to be conducted by the professors of the several faculties, including
local faculties, together with external examiners. It was soon felt
that the bill was open to a great deal of destructive criticism. It did
not create an independent teaching University, as the Colleges would
be largely concerned in its management and in the conduct of its
examinations ; while the Colleges felt that in the new University a
new College was, to all intents and purposes, being created, with
special advantages which would make it a very powerful rival to their
detriment. The substitution of the intermediate examination for
matriculation as the entrance to the University was especially resented,
as it was argued, not unfairly, that the result would be that students
would leave the Colleges at this stage for the greater attractions of
the University, and that the Colleges would thus be crippled in the
most valuable stage of their work. It was felt by Parliament that
more light was required on the whole subject, and, accordingly, a
Parliamentary Select Committee was appointed to investigate the
whole question and to call for evidence.
This Committee began its proceedings on 10 April, 191 3, and
concluded its sittings on 19 May. Two quotations from its report
will show briefly the difficulties it found in coming to any definite
University Development in South Africa 231
conclusion — " Your Committee finds that the witnesses examined are
unanimously of opinion that the existing University system should be
reformed and the facilities for higher study and research extended " ;
*' The greatest divergence of opinion was found to exist among the
witnesses regarding the lines upon which reform is to be carried out ".
This unanimity as to the end in view and divergence as to the means
were amusingly illustrated by the evidence given by Dr. Walker, who
was then Vice-Chancellor of the old University, and by myself, who
was then Pro Vice-Chancellor. We both went as representatives of
the University Council but were quite opposed in our views, Dr.
Walker being inclined to favour some form of federation while I was
strongly in favour of an independent teaching University. The Com-
mittee contented itself with stating various possible solutions as
follows : —
(i) The merging of either the South African College or the Victoria
College, or both, in a Central Institution at Groote Schuur.
(2) The federation of these two Colleges.
(3) The establishment of a new institution at Groote Schuur, supplement-
ing the work of the existing colleges and not competing with them in the
preparation of students for the pass B. A. Degree in Arts and Science.
(4) To establish a separate teaching University at Groote Schuur, in-
corporating the South African College therewith, the other Colleges to be
federated or affiliated to the University of the Cape of Good Hope.
(5) To raise both the South African College and the Victoria College to
the degree -granting status, transferring the former wholly or in part to Groote
Schuur, and to federate the remaining colleges as a third degree-granting
body until they are respectively qualified to become free Universities.
REPORT OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION.
The Committee refrained from recommending any scheme for
adoption, and strongly recommended Parliament to appoint a Com-
mission to inquire into the whole question. The recommendation
was adopted by Parliament, and a Commission of four, under the
presidency of Sir Percival Laurence, was appointed in November,
191 3. It began its sittings in February, 191 4, and heard evidence at
all the important centres of education in all the provinces, and issued
its report before the end of the year along with a companion volume
of all the evidence taken. The report is a very interesting one, both
as a literary production and as a history of all the efforts of the past
towards solving the University question. Its main recommendations
were as follows : —
232 Aberdeen University Review
(i) It proposed that two Universities should be created, one consisting
of a federation of the South African College and the Victoria College at
Stellenbosch, the other of a federation of the Transvaal University College at
Pretoria, the Grey University College at Bloemfontein, and the Natal Uni-
versity College at Maritzburg. The central seat of the former was to be at
Groote Schuur, of the latter at Pretoria. The Rhodes University College at
Grahamstown was to be allowed to choose with which University it should
ally itself. The Huguenot College at Wellington was to be affiliated to the
University, but on certain conditions could become a constituent College.
(2) It was proposed that the ;£^525,ooo available should be divided up.
The University at Groote Schuur was to receive ;£'35o,ooo, ;£^i 50,000 for
buildings, the remainder for endowment, while the remaining ;£"i 75,000 was
to be apportioned in varying sums to the Victoria College, Rhodes College,
the new University at Pretoria, the School of Mines and Council of Education
at Johannesburg.
It is unnecessary to refer to the other numerous recommendations,
interesting as they are, as the development of events made them all
inoperative. It may be noted that Professor Perry, who had been
invited by the Government from England to be a member of the
Commission, disagreed very strongly w^ith the proposal to divert any
part of the half million from the Southern University, as he considered
the sum barely adequate even for present needs. He also objected to
Rhodes College being allowed to join the Southern University, as a
constituent of the federation, as he thought its distance would destroy
the possibility of satisfactory and harmonious working. He considered
it should join the Northern University or be merely affiliated to the
Southern.
The report of the Commission naturally gave rise to a good deal
of discussion, and the general feeling was that it had failed to find a
satisfactory solution. The South African College, which had steadily
opposed any system of federation as being opposed to freedom of
teaching and administration and scarcely any improvement upon the
present condition of affairs, drew up a memorandum to the Minister
of Education. It reaffirmed its objections to federation, called atten-
tion to the fact that the proposed University at Groote Schuur was
not in any sense the University contemplated by the donors of the
half million, and that the diversion of a large portion of the fund was
quite out of harmony with their intentions ; and it again expressed its
willingness to remove to Groote Schuur, provided it were incorporated
as an independent University. It called attention to the fact that its
strong claims for means of expansion in many directions had been put
University Development in South Africa 233
aside for a long period by the Government owing to the uncertainty
of its position with reference to the proposed University at Groote
Schuur, and urged that it should either be incorporated as a University
at Groote Schuur or be granted means for expansion where it was.
Representations on the whole subject were also made by the South
African College to Mr. Otto Beit and to the two gentlemen, Sir Starr
Jameson and Sir Lionel Phillips, who, according to Sir Julius Wernher's
will, had to give their approval in writing to the constitution of the
University at Groote Schuur.
THE FINAL ARRANGEMENT.
The crux of the whole question was the attitude of the Victoria
College at Stellenbosch. This College was very dear to the hearts
of the Dutch-speaking section of the community, and no bill had
much chance of passing through Parliament if it seemed likely to
damage or ignore the interests of that institution. The year 191 5,
so full of trouble and anxiety for a great part of the world, was a
momentous one in the settlement of the long-standing controversy
about University matters in South Africa. Victoria College had
hitherto hung back from asking for an independent charter. Its
financial resources and endowments were inadequate as compared
with those of its chief rival, the South African College, and it,
naturally enough, was reluctant to run the risk of loss of its position
of substantial equality. Happily, this difficulty was to some extent
removed by a large bequest about this time which, though not given
directly to the College, was left in the hands of trustees for its general
benefit. A great deal of discussion and negotiation took place, the
net result of which was that Victoria College expressed its desire to
become incorporated as an independent University. This at once
cleared away the chief difficulty which had hitherto blocked the way,
and, although some shook their heads over the creation of two Uni-
versities in such close proximity, it was felt by most that this was
a small matter compared with the clear gain attained. The chief
remaining difficulty was how to secure a certain amount of freedom
in teaching and development for the remaining Colleges, while they
were yet too weak to claim independence as Universities ; but this
was a comparatively easy problem, and Mr. Malan, no doubt with a
feeling of great relief, soon found himself in a position to proceed
with the drafting of three bills for the incorporation of three Uni-
234 Aberdeen University Review
versities. Two were to be independent single-college Universities —
the University of Cape Town (with which is incorporated the South
African College), and the University of Stellenbosch. The remaining
Colleges were incorporated as a federal University under the (rather
ill-chosen) name of the University of South Africa, which was to be
the legal successor of the present University of the Cape of Good
Hope. Provision was made for the creation of a joint board, common
to the three Universities, for the matriculation and certain other ex-
aminations, and the Federal University was relieved from the incubus of
purely external examinations by the professors at the various Colleges
being associated with external examiners in all University examinations.
These bills were brought before Parliament last year and were
passed without great difficulty. There was for a time some danger
of strong opposition on the part of the Transvaal members, who, with
a considerable amount of justice, argued that, although they had been
quite willing to approve of one great central University at Groote
Schuur and to acquiesce in the money, which had been originally
meant for the benefit of the Transvaal, going towards its creation,
the present scheme was really of a different character and seemed
to prejudice the hopes of the Transvaal of having an independent
University of its own. Assurances were given by the Government,
however, that the needs of the Transvaal would not be neglected and
that the development of the institution there would receive every
encouragement, and the bills were thereupon passed.
A year or two will probably elapse before the statutes necessary
for the working of the three Universities can be considered and
passed, and a still longef time before the new University buildings
at Groote Schuur can be erected, and the transference of the South
African College to its new abode effected ; but the great difficulties
have been solved, and we may hope that a new era of progress has
been entered upon. To myself personally, as I look back over more
than thirty-seven years and see the progress that has been made in
institutions which, when I first saw them, were little better than
grammar-schools, and which have now become pretty fairly-equipped
Universities, the future is full of promise, and I congratulate myself
that the change, which I saw as a promised land so long ago, has
actually come about during the term of my Vice-Chancellorship of
the old University.
V^M. RITCHIE.
Translations from the Greek Anthology.
IIcftTrct) croi, 'PoSo/cXeta, rdSe orrii^ofSy avdecri /caXoi?
avTos v<^' i7/x€T€/Dat9 wXe^dfjLevo's TraXdfiais '
€<Tri Kpivov poSer) re Koikv^ voT^prj r dvep.(i)irq
/cat vdpKiacro^ vypos koL Kvai/avye^s lov.
ravra o-rexltafievyj Xtj^ov /jteyctXau^os eovcra '
dvdeis KOL X^Jyets /cat cru /cat 6 crrec^ai/o?.
— RUFINUS.
** Alas ! that Spring should vanish with the Rose !
That youth's sweet-scented Manuscript should close !
Sweet rose-red maid, to thee I send
This garland twined by me thy friend.
Here lilies be and petalled rose,
With violet that darkly glows,
And wind flower wet with morning dew,
And daffodil of sunny hue.
But as the flowers thy brows caress,
Lay aside thy haughtiness.
For as the wreath shall withered lie
So shall thy beauty fade and die.
~F. G. M.
'^KvO^a TToXXa yivoiro veoSfiiJTcp iirl rvfji/Scpf
fxrj /3dT0<; av-^fxrjpijf fxr) /ca/coi/ alyliTvpoVy
aXX' ta /cat a-dfJL\ffV)(a /cat vBaTivrj vdpKL(rcro<;,
Ovt^tc, /cat Trepl crov wdvra yevoLTo p68a,
—AUTHOR UNKNOWN.
REQUIESCAT.
May flowers bloom thick around thy head :
No thorn nor weed with petals red :
But margeraine and violet,
Lily and narcissus wet.
And around thee scent the rose,
Vibius, where thy bones repose.
—F. G. M.
^^6 Aberdeen University Review
Killed in Action.
{Reprinted by special permission of the Proprietors of Punch ".)
Thrice blessed fate ! We linger here and droop
Beneath the heavy burden of our years,
And may not, though we envy, give our lives
For England and for honour and for right ;
But still must wear our weary hours away.
While he, that happy fighter, in one leap.
From imperfection to perfection borne.
Breaks through the bonds that bound him to the earth.
Now of his failures is a triumph made ;
His very faults are into virtues turned ;
And, reft for ever from the haunts of men.
He wears immortal honour and is joined
To those who fought for England and are dead.
R. C. L.
O fortunatos iuuenes ! nos serior aetas
mole premit membrisque negat languentibus arma.
heu ! quantum nobis libeat sic fundere uitam
pro patria sanctoque hominum pro iure fideque !
fata uetant, tardas ducendum est tempus in horas ;
at tu ui subita, iuuenis felicior, audes
terrenas laxare moras, labemque repente
excutis humanam purusque euadis ad astra.
ante laborasti frustra ? iam digna uidentur
ista etiam palma. uitia in te uidimus olim ?
iam non laude carent. hominum consortia perdis,
sed decus immortale tenes adscitus in illos
•quos rapuit letum patriae dum signa sequuntur.
W. B. A
Professor A. B. Davidson/
|T is a remarkable fact that of the twenty- four (or so)*
Professors who since i860 have occupied the ten Hebrew
Chairs in the Scottish Universities and the other Presby-
terian Halls of Divinity in Scotland and England no
fewer than half have been graduates of the University
of Aberdeen — "Rabbi" Duncan, Professors John Forbes^
A. B. Davidson, James Robertson, W. Robertson Smithy
W. G. Elmslie, James Paterson, George G. Cameron,
John Skinner, A. R. S. Kennedy, James Gilroy, and
John A. Selbie — while of the rest, graduates of other Universities, four or
five were pupils of the Aberdonians. At least seven of the twenty-four,
besides two Professors of Hebrew across the seas, were trained by Professor
A. B. Davidson : as rich a scholar as any of that great company and the best
teacher among them. His influence on his students amounted to a fascination.
With the least popular subject in the theological curriculum, his classroom was
the most haunted, and even men who had passed their Hebrew would revisit
it again and again. It was not only the more able minds that felt the spell.
Davidson was sympathetic with the dull, patient with the wilful, ironically in-
different to those who thought too highly of themselves, terrible to the careless
and a conscience and inspiration to all. Their best came out before him, they
were ashamed to give him less. A lofty and a lonely soul, he could and did
lay himself alongside the humblest of his fellow-ministers or the rawest of
his students without constraint ; but his scorn for presumption was immedi^
ate. " A fugitive and gracious light . . . shy to illumine," he attracted only
to escape. Tender or sarcastic according to occasion, pathetic or witty,
humorous and blushing to find himself so, diffident and frank by turns — these
charms of his temperament were matched only by those of the equal strength
and versatility of his learning. A great grammarian, with a faultless mastery
of detail, he was full of the spirit and the music of the two great literatures
he taught — Hebrew and Arabic — and he could transmit them to the dullest.
His natural piety and keen insight into character were as sympathetic to the
sceptics as to the prophets of the Old Testament. He has given our language
its best books on spirits so different as Job and Ezekiel. As we who were-
under him remember, he was equally at home on the 23rd Psalm or in the
Book of Ecclesiastes. He was bom to interpret so various a literature as the
Old Testament. As the present writer has said elsewhere, " it was the re-
ligious experience of the individual, and especially in doubt and failure, the
assertion of personal consciousness, whether against dogma, fate, or deity,
1 " Andrew Bruce Davidson, D.D., LL.D., D.Litt." By James Strahan, D.D. Lon-
don : Hodder & Stoughton.
^238 Aberdeen University Review
which most attracted Davidson and excited his powers to their highest pitch.
In that sphere of interpretation he was unrivalled. No school or church in
our day has furnished an exegete to match him there."
To picture a personality at once so impressive and so elusive was a difficult
task. But that Dr. Strahan has succeeded will be gratefully acknowledged
by all who knew Davidson, " the goodly fellowship of all New College men,"
to whom he has dedicated this study of their great teacher. It is in part a
biography, but — because the events and changes in Davidson's life were few
though they were momentous enough to himself and his generation — it is in
greater part a series of appreciations of the different aspects of his character
as a teacher and a man. These are justly and gracefully portrayed.
Andrew Bruce Davidson was born in the little farmhouse of Kirkhill, in
the parish of Ellon. His father, " very tall and fair," was from Forfarshire,
-with " a sooth country tongue," the Buchan people said, " different frae oor
-ain " ; and his mother, Helen Bruce, had come as a girl from Midlothian.
But Andrew himself was of Buchan — in his mingled caution and keenness,
in his humour and often in his accent — of Buchan where Buchan at last
breaks into beauty and the prospect of hills. Something of its " snell " air
blew through him to the end and much of its poetry. To both his parents,
but especially, it appears, to his mother, he owed many of the rare qualities
of his mind. His father was " a very decided character, fond of an argu-
ment," "an ardent admirer of Burns, knew the best poems by heart and
delighted to recite them ". His mother " is described by all who remember
her as a Spartan," but " to the Spartan virtues she added the graces of
Christian motherhood ". "I never heard her laugh aloud and she said she
never read novels. I always picture her reading her New Testament."
There must have been more breadth of mind in the home than such a por-
trait suggests. Late in life Davidson said : " I have loved Shakespeare ever
since I was a boy of twelve ". Dr. Strahan justly praises the schoolmasters
of the north-east of Scotland at that time, and Ellon had one of the best —
Mr. Hay of Tillydesk, who " drilled Andrew in the rudiments of Latin and
used to boast, not without reason, that he had made a scholar of him ". The
famous Dr. Robertson was then the parish minister, " moderate in politics
but evangelical in faith ". When the Disruption came, and the minister, the
leader of his party, " stayed in," Davidson, the father, had no slight struggle
in making up his mind as to his duty. But finally he came round to the
instincts of his wife and with their family they joined the Free Church,
Andrew being twelve years old. Robertson had already impressed the boy.
He was " famous all over the district as a catechizer, and Andrew gained a
prize for repeating the catechism from beginning to end without a mistake ".
His mother and schoolmaster between them obtained his father's consent
that Andrew should go to the University. "Andrew," said the father once,
*' is the worst herd I ever had, for while he is thinking only of his books the
cattle are sure to be eating the corn." This was the future interpreter of
the herdsman of Tekoa. In 1845 he was moved to Aberdeen Grammar
School, then under Melvin, to prepare for the Bursary Competition at
Marischal College, and after two terms in the fourth class of the school
"he gained a bursary of ^11 when the highest was only ^£"13 ". A
little garret in the Gallowgate was rented for him and furniture sent for it
from Ellon ; after the first consignment fell a prey " to highway thieves "
Professor A. B. Davidson 239
(think of this between Ellon and Aberdeen !), and the boy had to put up for
some days in the University "guest room," a hostel provided for students
who did not at once find quarters for themselves. Every fortnight came
from home a store of " cakes, butter, eggs, potatoes, ham, cheese and so
forth, along with his clean linen ". His mother often brought it in herself
by the coach and "it is a tradition . . . that the brave little woman would
sometimes take a creel on her back and walk the whole way to town — nearly
twenty miles — and hand her son the coach fare which she had thus saved ".
David Masson had preceded Davidson through Marischal by some years and
had gone on, as he did afterwards, to Edinburgh. Among Davidson's own
College friends were James Donaldson, William Cormack — now in South
Africa and over ninety years of age, who has contributed a fine appreciation
ending, " Care A. B. Davidson ! Nulla dies unquam memori te eximet aevo "
— Charles Michie, and A. C. Cameron, afterwards schoolmaster at Fetter-
cairn. Andrew was " very popular among his fellow-students ". John Stuart
Blackie was Latin professor, " Dorian " Brown Greek, and John Cruickshank
Mathematical, while David Gray, William Martin and William MacGillivray
filled the chairs of Natural, and Moral Philosophy, and " Civil and Natural
History ". " Throughout the four years, out of seventy in the class, [Davidson]
stood about fourth all round in the order of merit and graduated with honours ".
On the whole he did best in mathematics, but was beaten for the mathe-
matical scholarship of ;£'6o at the end of the fourth year by William Mair,
from the schoolhouse of Savoch, now the Very Reverend Dr. Mair of
Earlston, " Moderator of the Church of Scotland in the same year in which
the corresponding honour in the Free Church was offered to Professor
Davidson ".^ After graduation Davidson taught for two years in the Free
Church School of Ellon, and applied himself to mastering Hebrew, French,
German and Italian. In 1852 he entered New College, Edinburgh, and
passed through the theological curriculum of four years under Principal
Cunningham, "Rabbi" Duncan, and others, with a summer at Gottingen
under Ewald. From 1856 to 1858 he acted in various stations as a pro-
bationer of his Church ; and in the latter year was appointed Hebrew tutor
in New College. In 1862 he published his famous commentary on Job, and
the following summer was elected by the Assembly colleague and successor
to Dr. Duncan. On the close of his first session he paid his only visit to the
East, and came back with a mastery of colloquial as well as classical Arabic.
He held his Chair for thirty-nine years. He refused in 1868 to be nominated
for a Chair in the English Presbyterian College, London ; was virtually offered
the Chair of Hebrew in Edinburgh University in 1894 and seems to have
been willing to take it, but the negotiations fell through ; and he declined
both the Gifford Lectureship in St. Andrews and the Moderatorship of the
General Assembly of his own Church. To the end he remained at New
College. As tutor and professor he must have passed through his hands
forty- four successive classes, varying in number from about a dozen to
between thirty and forty.
1 There is printed by Dr. Strahan an interesting appreciation of Professor Davidson's
work for his Church by Peter Bayne, whose course at Marischal partly covered Davidson's
(M.A, 1850; LL.D. 1879), urging him as early as 1893, the jubilee year of the Free
Church, to accept the offer of the Moderatorship. " In the name of Aberdeen University
and our old friendship I entreat you not to decline." The Rev. James E. Duguid, who
also contributes to this volume, was at Marischal from 1850 to 1854.
240 Aberdeen University Review
We have used most of our space — without any regret — for details of
interest to members of this University, and must content ourselves with brief
references to the admirable appreciations that fill the most of Dr. Strahan's
volume. He describes his subject successively as the Professor, the Critic,
the Grammarian, the Teacher, the Master, the Preacher, the Writer, the
Human, the Silent, the Player, the Scholar, the Churchman, and the Aged.
These chapters overlap, of course, but so did their originals in one of the
most various personalities of our time. Some things may be noted. There
is a single flash of confession in 1865 when he was thirty- four, to his friend
Cormack : —
This country is in what people who use large words call a '• transition " state — as if
the world, or nature, or man (or God ?) could be in any other. Either transition or stagna-
tion and corruption. All life and the universe is in transit, like a dark spot across the
luminous orb of the Almighty — only visible and defined against the great brightness
behind it. But you know big thoughts are simmering in men's brains just now, large,
indefinite, hazy conceptions, tasking the greatest grasp to open and close upon, uneasiness
and discontent with the gains of the Past, which will no longer fill but only irritates the
soul into which its advocates thrust it . . . every heart at all open to the influences of the
times finds growing up in it a crop of miseries and hopes which its own hand never sowed
but the spirit of the age dropped in. . . . But this breaking up of old forms of faith and
the combinations of the old material into new shapes go on greatly in secret, unrecognized
by the Churches. And so every one has an inner history which he will not venture to
declare . . . the great difficulty of thinking men is, I take it, this : Is this spirit of the
age really the tumultuous many-sided movement of God in history ? or is it the spirit of
Antichrist, of whom we have heard that he should come ? The Christian Churches here
go in unanimously with the latter view ; many thoughtful Christian men, who venture to
speak, pronounce for the former. Happy seem to me those who take either side, and only
miserable and paralytic those who halt between the two. I own to one of the sick folk
waiting at the pool in the vain hope that some angel will trouble the waters ; I dislike the
old, I distrust the new.
One who had passed through this experience could not but be a sym-
pathetic guide to his students, ministers of the Church in the still more
restless days that were to come. For however strong were his doubts his
scepticism stopped short of God.
God and his moral rule, however obscure its incidence may be, and the moral life of
man are sure. . . . The human spirit is an ethical subject, and has fellowship with God, in
whose image it is made. ... He who has this fellowship no longer feels that God is out-
side of him, crushing his spirit with iron fetters ; he is with God at the centre of the Uni-
verse and can say to himself, — All things are yours. He has already all things under his
feet.i
With such a faith, his attitude to questions of Old Testament criticism,
textual and historical, is intelligible, if we remember along with his faith his
innate scepticism of certainty in knowledge. He saw both how secondary
such questions are — speaking respectfully alike of the traditional, the new
and the newer solutions of them because he recognized how under each it
remained possible to trace the communion of God's spirit with man's in the
Old Testament and to perceive in this a Divine revelation — and also he felt
how impossible of solution were many of the questions. All this, even
more than his constitutional shyness and his aversion to speaking in public
debate, explains his conduct through the trials of his brilliant pupil Robertson
Smith. As Dr. Denney says : " From the Montaigne point of view — and
something in him always reminds me of Montaigne — and also from the point
1 " Theological Review," VoU III, p. 20.
Professor A. B. Davidson 241
of view entirely opposite, say that of the Fourth Gospel, the whole Robertson
Smith uproar was much ado about nothing". Dr. Strahan's treatment of
this phase of Davidson's career seems to us just and true ; and it was
certainly needed as a corrective to the judgments of Davidson by the bio-
graphers both of Rainy and Robertson Smith. Davidson's silence was
certainly not cowardice ; no one could impute that weakness to him who
remembers his courage in his own spiritual struggles, his inability to restrain
his scorn where scorn was deserved, and the independence of his mind
towards the most unquestioned authorities or popular fashions in his own
subject.
Few teachers have suffered so much from the posthumous editing of their
lectures as Davidson has. Dr. Strahan's strictures are just. The volume
" Old Testament Prophecy " is not only an inadequate but a misleading re-
presentation of the substance and the progress of Davidson's teaching. Dr.
Strahan and Prof. A. R. S. Kennedy are right in diverting the students'
attention from it to the articles Davidson himself passed for press in the
middle and end of his life, in the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," the " Ency-
clopaedia Biblica," and Dr. Hastings' " Dictionary of the Bible ". These
books preserve his ripest opinions on prophecy and the theology of the Old
Testament. His "Biblical and Literary Essays" reveal the range of his
sympathies and talents. And the four volumes of the "Theological Review,"
edited by students of the New College in the eighties, contain some of his
most brilliant, if minor, work, in the shape of reviews and articles.
Of Davidson as a preacher much might be said ; the following words
on his published sermons, which Dr. Strahan says are probably Dr. Denney's,
are sufficient ; —
The undogmatic tone of the Old Testament marks them all. Nothing could be less
professional, nothing more absolutely free from the faintest association of either church or
school. There is plenty of faith in them, in the simple Old Testament sense of faith in
God ; plenty of agnosticism too — not of the self-complacent sort, but true, grave, and
wistful ; and where the tragedy of the subject moves the writer deeply, as in the magnifi-
cent close of the sermon on Saul, a passion that rises to a height rarely equalled in poetry.
We must refer our readers to Dr. Strahan's chapters on Davidson as the
Human, the Silent, the Player, and the Aged. They are true and vivid.
Davidson used to say in his later years that "a lot of myths have grown
up about me ". But they were not all myths, and Dr. Strahan has done well
in scattering many anecdotes throughout his appreciations. We could have
taken more.
16
Graduation Address, March 23, 19 17.
BY THE PRINCIPAL.
\Y Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Members of the
University, — But a brief report is needed upon the
work of the winter. Except in a very few of the
smaller departments, all the courses of the various
Faculties have continued in operation. I have again
to thank those of our teachers on whom extra work
has fallen for their readiness in undertaking it.
A signal event of the year has been the tem-
porary amalgamation of the faculty of Divinity with
that of the United Free Church College. This has
been accomplished without difficulty and in a spirit of the happiest augury
for the union of the Scottish Churches.
At the request of the Government Committee upon Modern Languages
in the Educational System of Great Britain, we received a deputation of
several of their members, Mr. Stanley Leathes, Dr. George Macdonald, and
Mr. Holt. We submitted evidence of the organization of the subjects within
this University and discussed their further requirements. Our discussion
hardly touched the question of the addition of other languages to those
already taught ; but representatives of the Court have been considering
this question also, in conjunction with representatives of the Chamber of
Commerce, the School Board and Robert Gordon's Technical College. If
there be a need in the community for courses of a University standard in
those additional languages we shall — especially in years when our revenues
are rapidly falling — heartily welcome the help of public bodies or of private
individuals for their establishment.
An Ordinance is being prepared for the institution of a post-graduate
Degree in Education. In this we not only aim at such a standard for the
Degree itself as shall be worthy both of the profession for which it is designed
and of the high place taken by this University in the training of the teachers
of Scotland ; but we seek to put the whole subject of Education in a position
which shall secure both that standard and the other requirements of so
fundamental a service of the State.
Within this academic year our powers to grant degrees in Forestry have
come into operation. We have now two Lectureships in the subject, the
Forestry Department has been equipped, the Forestry Garden at Craibstone
has been organized, and we only await the end of the war for the return of its
students. In this as in some other departments our co-operation with the
North of Scotland College of Agriculture is of the happiest.
Graduation Address, March 23, 19 17 243
In the sphere of Applied Science another and even wider opportunity has
been opened to us by the bequest of Mr. Jackson, of whose foresight for the
development of our city and of whose confidence in its University we would
express our very grateful appreciation. The Chair of Engineering which he
has entrusted to us cannot of itself suffice for the many departments of the
science. Therefore, besides consulting the experience of other Universities,
we are carefully inquiring into all the local resources for establishing round
the Chair as full a school of engineering as shall do justice to the general
interests of higher education in the subject and to the particular require-
ments in this respect of the north-east and north of Scotland. We gratefully
acknowledge the valuable assistance which we are receiving from Mr. Jackson's
Trustees.
This fresh departure is upon the same line of progress which the University
with the aid of additional Government grants, the Carnegie Trust and private
benefactions has steadily developed under her new statutes. Since these were
given, one Chair — the Chair of Agriculture — and some fifteen new lectureships
in Medicine and Applied Science have been instituted ; and by the generosity
of the late Miss Cruickshank and Sir Alexander McRobert we shall be ready
to start two others as soon as the war is over. But the experience of the war
reminds us that even all these forms of teaching and research do not exhaust
the duties of the University to the national needs in such fields of education.
The number of our students, which in 1913-14 had risen to 1069, but fell
in the first year of the war to 827, and in the second to 684, has further fallen
this winter to 562. For the first time in the history of the University we have
more women than men — 333 women and 229 men in place of the 700 men
that we could reckon on in times of peace. So far as we have been able to
follow them some 530 of our students have gone to service with the colours,
and in the next week they will be followed by 50 others. I have to thank
the Recruiting Officer of this area for arranging to leave them to their studies
till the close of the term.
In all, the Roll of our Graduates, Alumni, Students and Members of the
Staff on Naval and Military Service amounts to over 2250, of whom nearly
1900 were commissioned or enlisted while that service was still voluntary.
But I can assure you that the students just called up under the new Army
Order show as unselfish a readiness to serve as any of their predecessors. To
them and to their seniors, who have impatiently waited for their graduation
in medicine, in order to give their services to their country and her cause, we
offer our hearty thanks and the assurance of our confidence in their loyalty
and devotion.
My Lord Provost, our Spring Graduation takes place to-day beneath the
gathering of many clouds. For the second time within three years we meet
without a Chancellor. Death has also taken from us one of our Professors,
three of our Lecturers, and one University Assistant. This is the fifth
graduation since the outbreak of war, and though we meet with brighter
signs of that victory for our cause, in which our faith has never wavered,
we have to record once more a heavy increase in the Roll of our graduates
and students who have fallen for it.
To the memory of our late Chancellor the University Court and the
Senatus have already offered their tributes. Here it is enough to say that
we heartily endorse all that has been expressed regarding the eminent services
244 Aberdeen University Review
rendered by Lord Elgin to the Empire both at home and abroad and in
particular to the interests of the higher education in Scotland. We are
grateful and proud to have the name of so faithful and distinguished a
servant of the State and of the People upon the illustrious Roll of our
Chancellors ; and mourn that we have been so soon deprived of the ad-
vantage of his great experience, his sagacity and his impartial judgment.
To a singular ripeness of learning in his own subjects, and the rich know-
ledge of men which his long ministry of religion had brought him, Professor
Thomas Nicol added a fine temper and force of character with a devotion to
duty, which endeared him to us all and rendered invaluable service in our
discipline and administration.
The quality of Mr. Robert Glegg's work in Agricultural Chemistry has
been appraised very highly by those with authority to do so ; but he also
earned the warm respect of all his colleagues for the patient thoroughness
with which he discharged his duties in weakness as in strength.
Of Mr. James Duguid I could speak with the force and warmth of a close
friendship for thirty- seven years ; but it is enough to point to the wide and
unanimous esteem in which he was held by the members of his own profes-
sion, by his fellow-townsmen and fellow-churchmen, and by his colleagues
in the University. A lawyer without reproach, a citizen who took his full
share of military as well as of civic duty, a man of faith and high ideals, and
a loyal and affectionate friend.
Dr. Arthur Hugh Lister came to Aberdeen the bearer of an illustrious
naihe, and in all he did and exemplified among us he proved himself worthy
of the inheritance. By his abilities in the science and art of his profession, as
well as by the purity and charm of his character, he brought to the ranks of
medicine in the city a distinction all his own ; and has completed a strong and
generous life by the sacrifice of it to the needs of our armies on foreign soil.
Though he was not on our staff I cannot refrain from mentioning the
name also of Dr. Joseph Ellis Milne, the record of whose intrepid labours
for the wounded at the front and of his death in action is still fresh in our
minds. In Dr. Lister and Dr. Milne, and fifteen more of their profession who
have yielded up their lives in the present war, the medical graduates of to-day
have the most inspiring examples for the service they are about to enter.
The other member of our staff whom we have lost by death since last
graduation is William George Reid, Master of Arts, with First- Class Honours
in Classics (also Second Class, Classical Moderations, Oxford, 191 3, and Lit.
Hum., 1914), and Assistant first to the Professor of Humanity (191 1), and
then to the Professor of Greek. He fell in action in France this month, as
2nd Lieutenant in the Scottish Rifles.
In all 141 graduates, alumni and students of the University have given
their lives for their country and her sacred cause ; and I have now to read
the names of those 50 of them whose deaths have been reported since last
Graduation.
[The list was then read, the audience standing, and at the close the
Principal said : — ]
" These, and the thousands of their comrades who have fallen with them,
have left their unfinished warfare, and the Cause for which they waged it, as
a sacred trust, consecrated by their sacrifices, to us and to their whole people."
The Rev. Professor Cowan led the meeting in prayer, after which the
National Anthem was sung and the Benediction pronounced.
^s\'*
Letters from Men on Service.
III.
THE "PUSH" FROM ARRAS.
I have to thank you for your kind message. All decorations out here
are to a large extent matter of luck and meaningless enough to the individual
concerned, but I am frankly glad for the sake of the battalion and the Uni-
versity.
Lately, as you will know, we have been " in it " again, and the battalion
conducted itself creditably, taking all the objectives it was detailed for. Once
again I have been lucky and come through without a scratch, and I must say
there was a good deal of enjoyment in the show, a " fearful joy " perhaps and
more to be appreciated in the recollection than in the reality. But who
could withhold admiration at the bombardment — every yard of hostile trench
covered with shells from the rows upon rows of field guns in rear, axle to
axle over the fields, not to mention the fifty or so siege batteries in the front
of the corps ? No wonder the Bavarians had little fight in them when the
Highlanders and Canadians leaped into their trenches. The advance here
may be slow in the months to come (for artillery is moved so slowly) but it is
absolutely certain. . . .
The best sight of all was the Canadians, whom my Company was in
touch with all the way across. They formed up fifty yards under their barrage
in line after line and walked forward in the open, never thinking of lying
down or taking cover. Once I saw a shell land in one of the lines and make
a gap of almost twenty yards, but it was immediately mended by the men
in the flanks closing in. And when the final lift of the barrage came, they
went forward at the double in a perfect line as if on parade.
These strenuous times continue — ^and our rest though near is not yet.
Correspondence.
"THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE."
We have received the following communication from Rev. Alexander
Thomson Grant, Wemyss Castle, Fife (Marischal College, 1852-54; King's
College, 1859-60; Aberdeen University, 1860-62), who is now in his eighty-
third year, and who is therefore probably the oldest subscriber to the
Review : —
"In an early number of your Review" [No. 4 — November, 1914; Art.
** The Story of the University Magazine," by W, Keith Leask], "the Editors
of *The Aberdeen University Magazine* of 1852-53 are said to have been
Mr. Peter Moir Clark and Mr. Robert Stephen. But there was a third. At
least, I know I, with the two mentioned, sat up all night in Mr. Peter Moir
Clark's father's (or uncle's) house in Marischal Street, Aberdeen, cudgelling
our brains over the first number, to get it into the printer's hands next day.
But I do not think I had anything more to do with it.
" Many years afterwards, when I was Chaplain to the late Earl of Rosslyn
and incumbent of Rosslyn Chapel, his lordship, when he was Lord High
Commissioner, wrote to me to come and lunch at Holyrood, to meet a
clergyman he wanted to make me acquainted with. I found that the clergy-
man was the Rev. Robert Stephen of Renfrew ; and his lordship found we
did not require to be introduced.
" Pardon this letter, which I write with difficulty ; and believe me, etc."
Mr. George Macdonald, rector of the Normal College, Bloemfontein,
South Africa, in a postscript to a personal letter to the secretary says : —
" I get the Review regularly, and read with interest, and always first, the
Personalia.
" A new University College has been organised in Johannesburg, and at
least three Aberdeen men are among the new appointments."
a^
Reviews.
Indian Moral Instruction and Caste Problems. Solutions by A. H.
Benton, I.C.S. (Retd.). London : Longmans, Green & Co.
Mr. Alexander Hay Benton entered King's College as First Bursar in
1856, graduated with distinction as Master of Arts in i860, and in 1861 was
appointed to the Indian Civil Service. In the course of a distinguished
career he rose to be Judge of the Chief Court of the Punjaub (1889), and
retired in 1894 after thirty-three years in India. This volume — which has
been dedicated to, and gratefully accepted by, his Alma Mater — is therefore
based on a long and intimate experience of the people of India and in par-
ticular of those fundamental problems of their life and government which
form its subject. But this experience is only part of the authority with which
the book appeals to the reader. Mr. Benton has the philosophic as well as
the judicial mind and above all he writes with a conscience. He has a
confident instinct for the ethical elements of education and a high ideal of
what the Empire owes to its Indian subjects. His moral earnestness is com-
pelling, and he sets forth his views with clearness as well as with force.
A short introduction, after emphasizing the magnitude of the problem,
admits the immense material advancement for which India is indebted to the
British Government, but claims that in the spiritual sphere "we are in a
less comfortable region ". " Ethical training ought to be co-extensive with
secular education," yet "in India we have to a very large extent neglected it ".
Religion and morals, which cannot be separated, have not been taught in
Government institutions, and the consequences have been apparent in the
anarchic phenomena among the educated natives, which, however, have not
as yet induced the Government to admit that its policy of religious neutrality
requires reconsideration. Mr. Benton
proposes to recommend a scheme of instruction in accordance with the various religions of
the pupils after it has been tested by an experiment in the Secondary Schools, where the
need is most urgent, or in a portion of them. . . . When the number of religions, cults,
sects, and castes is, as in India, without any limit (over 2000 we are told), the work of moral
upbringing assumes an aspect of overwhelming magnitude and difficulty. The only hope
of dealing with it successfully appears to lie in the possibility of utilizing the agencies of
the social framework, which causes the overpowering complexity, to provide also the
means of coping with and overcoming it.
This leads the author to a fresh study and explanation of the origin and
nature of Indian caste. Hence the double title which he has given to his
volume. We regret that we have not space to recount the author's interest-
ing arguments on the Dravidian (pre- Aryan) origin of caste, as
a mere institution of matrimonial associations, gradually and spontaneously developed
by the people themselves, in order to provide a supply of brides by ways and means more
civilized and satisfactory than the old methods of raiding and kidnapping, recognized even
by Manu.
By the way he emphasizes the failure of Buddhism to establish a system
-^
248 Aberdeen University Review
of morality without spiritual assistance. In subsequent chapters he gives a
clear account of the " Operations of the Education Department " in India, a
well-reasoned definition of "The Relation of the State to Religion," and
a description of the Relations of Religion and Morality ; and discusses " Moral
Improvement and Reformation ". His general conclusions are that religions
are the source of morality and that its character is dependent on them ; and
he supports the proposal of the Bishop of Bombay for the solution of the
Indian problems — *' that at school the children of each religion should receive
teaching in the morality inculcated by that religion ". As a substitute for the
Government policy of religious neutrality he urges that Government should
regard
all religions with impartial favour and respect . . . repress all acts which violate law,
humanity, justice, or decency and all infringements of the rights of property notwithstanding
any plea of justification on religious grounds.
For the practical enforcement of these ideals he proposes that Committees,
independent of Government (but in the first instance to be appointed by the
Collector of a district) and representing the various religious interests of each
community, should be constituted in each district to give moral instruction to
the pupils of all Government and Grant-in-aid Primary Schools, in accordance
with the religion of the pupil, not in the schools but in separate buildings
specially adapted for the purpose. It is to be noted, however, that he
declines to extend this recommendation to Animists and Primitive Tribes,
feeling that Government cannot go down so low as that.
Whether the practical measures recommended by Mr. Benton are possible
it is only for those who have a long experience of Indian life and are familiar
with the Indian mind to decide ; but there will be no doubt among all readers
of his volume as to the force and justice of his criticisms of the present edu-
cational situation in India, or of the general soundness of the principles which
inspire his proposals. Nor does he advocate an immediate application of his
scheme to the whole of India. On the contrary he is very cautious, and con-
tent to propose an experiment on a small but important part of the wide field,
viz. Secondary Education, to begin with. In the absence of other proposals
this is not an excessive demand ; and the experiment is surely worth making.
Mr. Benton's volume is most informing and suggestive from first to last.
Its exposure of the failure and consequent perils of education without morals
or religion in India, has deep and serious lessons for our own people.
Celtic Mythology and Religion, with Chapters upon Druid Circles and
Celtic Burial. By Alexander MacBain, M.A., LL.D. With Introductory
Chapters and Notes by Professor W. J. Watson, M.A., LL.D. Stirling:
Eneas Mackay. Pp. xviii + 254.
Professor Watson, the literary executor of the late Dr. Alexander MacBain,
Inverness, has republished three of Dr. MacBain's earlier essays. The
longest of these, on " Celtic Mythology and Religion," was communicated
to the Inverness Gaelic Society in 1883-4 and published in 1885. The
others are a paper upon "'Druid' Circles" communicated to the Gaelic
Society of Inverness and also published in 1885, and a shorter paper upon
*' Celtic Burial " communicated to the Inverness Scientific Society and pub-
lished in the Society's Transactions in 1893. The book will be prized by
the author's numerous friends and former pupils as a memorial of the good
Reviews 249
work which he did in his day in the study of Gaelic archgeology and philology.
These sciences have made great advances in the generation which has passed
since Dr. MacBain's essays first appeared, and no one would now claim that
they are abreast of the day. They will repay perusal, however, if only as a
striking example of the influence of environment upon a scholar who was
always laborious and painstaking in his work and an earnest seeker after
truth.
Born in the upper regions of Badenoch shortly after the middle of last
century and before southern influence had penetrated into those remote
regions, Dr. MacBain — who was a grown boy before he knew any English — -
was from the first attracted to the practical and scientific study of language.
In 1 87 1 he joined the Ordnance Survey, at that time engaged in the Tri-
gonometrical Survey of Inverness-shire. His intimate knowledge of Gaelic
was of great service to the Survey in connection with the place-names of a
district where these are nearly all Gaelic. Young MacBain also spent some
part of 1872-3 doing Ordnance Survey work in Wales, where the place-names
afforded to his keen and alert mind an extended field for study. In 1873 he
retired from the Ordnance Survey service determined to pursue a career of
scholarship and learning. Already he had become absorbed not only in the
study of place-names, but in the wider problems of philology. From 1874 to
1880 he pursued his studies in Aberdeen, where he earnestly applied himself
particularly to classics and philology. His essay upon " Celtic Mythology and
Religion " may be considered the fruits of his studies in Aberdeen, just as
it forms the first fruits of his literary labours. While at King's College
MacBain devoured the works of all the leading writers on philology, and as
soon as he settled at Inverness in 1880 he renewed his studies in Welsh and
Irish. Even then he conceived the ambition to do for Gaelic what Skeat
had done for English and Brachet for French, and he applied himself with
extraordinary industry to the comparative study of the Celtic tongues. His
varied experiences in early life proved of great service to him. His Etymo-
logical Gaelic Dictionary was, as Dr. Watson says, his crowning achievement,
MacBain's studies having been essentially linguistic and literary, his
investigations into " Druid " circles and Celtic burial, like those upon
Mythology, were conducted largely from the literary standpoint. One result
of this is that they cannot be regarded as so fruitful in reliable data as, say,
the work of Dr. Joseph Anderson or Dr. Robert Munro. As Professor
Watson remarks — "His general attitude and conclusions have to be con-
sidered in the light of subsequent researches ". For example, his theory that
stone circles were built "probably by the Picts " would not in these days
receive very wide acceptance. One might demur even to the writer's use of
the word "Celtic" in the final essay. None the less we must express our
thanks to Professor Watson for the labour he has spent upon the book, and
join in his hope that it will be widely welcomed.
J H. F. Campbell.
Student and Sniper-Sergeant. A Memoir of J. K. Forbes, M.A., 4th
Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, who died for his country, 25 September,
1915. By William Taylor, M.A., and Peter Diack, M.A. London:
Hodder & Stoughton. Pp. viii + 182.
One of the most deplorable consequences of the war — although it is now
a commonplace to say so — is the grievous national loss sustained in the death
250 Aberdeen University Review
of so many young men of ability and character, for whom careers of useful-
ness and distinction could be safely predicted. Among them must be
reckoned the subject of this sympathetic and well-executed Memoir. John
Keith Forbes (M.A., 1905) was evidently a man of many parts, endowed with
qualities which must have carried him far in the work for which he was
qualifying. Early in life he became a musical enthusiast, whose " unvarying
plan was to buy an instrument first, and then find out its properties from
actual playing ". While a teacher at Buckie, he became organist and choir-
master of the parish church, and conductor of the local Orchestral Society ;
he even attempted musical composition. He put the same energy and
thoroughness into other pursuits. He read widely, took up the study of
philosophy, and then passed on to theology ; and he resolved at last to enter
the ministry. The decision to take this step, according to the authors of the
Memoir — two intimate friends of Forbes — was perfectly natural for one of his
character and ideals: "he had that indefinable pastoral instinct in his soul
that would not let him rest careless of other people's welfare and advance-
ment, especially in the ideals of that life which is life indeed"; "he con-
sidered that by entering the Church he would have better opportunities of
influencing the youth and children of our land, whom he naturally looked
upon as the hope of both Church and State ". He accordingly (in June, 1912)
entered the Aberdeen United Free Church College. He was the most
brilliant student of his year in any of the U.F. Church Colleges, and in both
the entrance and the exit examinations he secured the first place among all
candidates in Scotland.
Then came the war. One morning, one of the Professors set his class a
paper to write on " The Duty of Clergy and Divinity Students in the Present
Situation". A quotation is given from "J. K.'s " paper: it contains the
significant sentence — " Under the circumstances it may well be the more
Christian thing to don the armour of the crusader rather than the cassock of
the priest ". Forbes's own mind, at any rate, was made up : "before another
hour had passed he had enrolled at Woolmanhill as a private in the 4th
Battalion, Gordon Highlanders ". He intentionally avoided joining a
company where he would be amongst men of his own class, preferring to live
and drill alongside men from the east end of the city, from Shuttle Lane and
East North Street, several of whom he knew through his connection with the
Students' Mission in that district ; and he was greatly disappointed when he
was transferred, willy-nilly, to "U " Company. Another interesting sidelight
on his character is disclosed in the fact that a copy of the Book of Job in
Hebrew was his constant companion in camp. Detailed, in due course, to
the Western front, Forbes became distinguished for his extraordinary reliability
as a guide, especially at night — a faculty he had acquired by much solitary
walking and mountaineering ; and he was constantly in demand for guiding
parties to and from the trenches. To him also is due insistence on the view
that German sniping could only be effectually met by sniping on our part,
which led eventually to his being selected to organize and train a section of
snipers and to his being accorded the special rank of Sniper-Sergeant.
This Memoir of Forbes reveals not merely an attractive personality, but a
man of forcefulness and strong will, actuated, moreover, by high ideals of life
and duty, whose sincerity and nobility of character shine forth on every page.
It will be specially welcome accordingly to Forbes's fellow-students and per-
sonal friends, but it appeals no less to a much wider circle. We have in it, in
Reviews 251
fact, a Scottish counterpart to that notable "book of the war,*' "A Student
in Arms," for, like Donald Hankey, "J. K." furnishes vivid impressions of the
thoughts on war which occurred to his reflective mind^ and no less striking,
meditations on the many and profound problems which war suggests. The
mental perplexity occasioned by some of these is well illustrated in a letter
written by Forbes, describing how he was "stunned" by the death of a
sergeant, probably the most popular man in the company, with whom he had
been talking just a few minutes before : —
A terrible blow ! The awful problems open once more upon me, the awful unanswer-
able problems, that clamour for an answer and yet that cannot be answered, though the
insistent spirit often demands that they must be answered or the spirit be lost evermore^^
And ever the old answer, that there can be no solution, that here we must wait and be
patient, that here we must trust and hope and have faith, faith in the All-good, that He
who is, is and must be the All-good : and then must we rest, and then, strange though it
seems, we are content to rest, or rather we feel that then alone we can safely rest, rest in
the knowledge that we are moving in the spirit of truth, towards the Sun of Truth and Love.
Robert Anderson.
A Sough o' War. By Charles Murray. London : Constable and Company,
Ltd. Pp. 56.
This is a very welcome reprint of Mr. Murray's verses on the war, the fourteen
poems here gathered together from various sources embracing " The Thraws
o' Fate," *' The Wife on the War," and " Sergeant " Aberdein's graphic and
humorous letter " Fae France," all of which originally appeared in the
Review. Along with them we have the stirring poem which gives the title
to the reprint, contributed to " The Times " in November, 1914, and which
demonstrated that our Northern Doric poet could hold his own with the
many versifiers who then transmuted the call to arms into patriotic and
poetic utterance. Mr. Murray has since dealt with many phases of the war
— not least successfully with the poignant circumstances of separation and
uncertainty, as exemplified in "At the Loanin' Mou' " and "Hairy Hears
Fae Hame " ; and he has again shown that the Aberdeenshire dialect is
capable of becoming the medium of conveying tenderness and pathos quite
as readily as humour and satire. The sorrowful plaint of those who, as a
consequence of their years, cannot " do their bit," which was so finely ex-
pressed in " The Thraws o' Fate," finds still finer expression in a poetical
" foreword," of which we may quote the opening verse : —
Ye're better men, ye're baulder men,
Ye're younger men forby,
Mair fit we ken than aulder men
To answer Scotland's cry.
Yet mony a chiel that's held an' grey,
An' trauchlin' at the ploo.
Would fain fling up his tack the day
To face the frem't wi' you.
Gey short o' breath, but keen an' teuch.
It's but his birn o' days
That bauds him here by closs an' cleuch,
Lythe haughs an' heathery braes.
The Lord is My Strength and Song, and Other Sermons. By James>
Stark, D.D. Aberdeen : William Smith & Sons, The Bon- Accord
Press. Pp. viii +215.
In a prefatory note. Dr. Stark maintains that it is essential to a sermon that
it be spoken, and that a sermon is placed at a disadvantage when it comes
2^2 Aberdeen University Review
alone, unaccompanied by the living presence and audible voice. Without
entirely endorsing this proposition, we may confess to an impression that some
of the four-and-twenty sermons gathered together in this volume would prove
more effective from the pulpit than they do when appearing in cold print —
there is occasionally a lack of that intensity and warmth of feeling which
elsewhere the author insists upon as qualities of the true preacher. Other-
wise, the sermons have many excellencies — they are distinctly lucid in argu-
ment and vigorous in exposition, and are constantly illuminated by historical
and literary allusions which betoken a cultured and well-stored mind. Dr.
Stark addresses himself to many of the problems of modern life and current
thought. He is earnest in his protestations against " a mere secular civiliza-
tion," and all his sermons are transfused by a highly evangelical note. Their
general character may be gathered from some of the titles — " The Vision that
Saves," " The ' Girding ' Effect of Progress," " The Evolution of the Spiritual ".
The Call of the Bells : a Novel by Edmund Mitchell, author of " Towards
the Eternal Snows," *' Tales of Destiny," etc. New York : The Menzies
Publishing Co.
Mr. Mitchell was a graduate of Aberdeen (M.A., 1881) settled for many years
in the United States and a traveller more than once round the world. His
previous works have won the praise of critics on both sides of the Atlantic for
the vigour of their style and " rare vein of romance ". His new volume will
certainly add to his reputation. It is a story of equal power and charm, fit not
only to hold the reader's interest from first to last but to lift and quicken his
heart. The style is clean and straight, both scenes and events are handled
with the vividness of one who knows them at first-hand, and there are, too,
the judgment and sense of proportion that come only from a thorough educa-
tion and familiarity with great literature. But above these is the strength of
faith in the simpler pieties of life and in their power for the regeneration of
the individual and the settlement of social strifes. The prophetic strain is not
wanting.
The hero is the runaway son of Scottish parents, emigrants to the States,
tramp, drunkard and thief when we meet him, who comes to himself at the
sound of bells chiming the tune of words his mother sang, " Will ye no come
back again ? '' and who is reclaimed for hard work and high thinking by the
generous friendship of a good man. In his turn he rescues the prodigal son
of a San Francisco manufacturer, enters the latter 's business, carries him
through a financial crisis and a strike and reconciles him to the trades unions
which promoted it.
This necessarily brief summary must not suggest to our readers " a short
and easy way " of dealing with vice and the problems of society. The author
does not hustle the moral forces he employs ; he believes in no short cuts,
evades no difficulty, and is guilty of no extravagance. His story is inspiring,
just because with its powerful faith it is at the same time patient, sane, and
probable. The British reader will be grateful for the accounts of the growth
of a great business in America, and of the conflicts there between labour and
capital, of which the crises and solutions are pretty much the same as with
ourselves. All these problems are carefully debated by a mature, impartial
mind in a temper as sincere as it is hopeful.
Among the charms of the story both in its descriptions of scenery and its
portraits of men and women, two especially captivate and between them illus-
Reviews 253
trate the width of the author's range. First there are the echoes of Scottish
life with its faith in religion and sound learning, and in particular the author's
reminiscences of school and University life in Scotland in the seventies of
last century. The hero's mother says to her son : —
*' O well, you've learned other things as important as Greek doubtless. But it was
the classics that made your father a thorough man and an exact man. . . . And you were a
real smart pupil, Donald. It was remarkable how your father brought you along. You
had read the first three books of Virgil, knew your Greek alphabet, could repeat every pro-
position in Euclid, the sixth book included, and could work sums in algebra up to simple
equations — all before you were thirteen years of age. . . . Not but that I had had a good
schooling — nobody, lass or lad, ever left Scotland without that."
The other charm is of a very different kind — the description of the atmos-
phere of the great desert that borders and invades California and of the gar-
dens and garden cities which irrigation has created within the State itself.
The present reviewer has himself passed from the one to the other and can
testify to the faithfulness of the vivid descriptions which Mr. Mitchell gives
of each and of the contrast between them. That wonderful picture of after-
noon and night on the last desert stage, with the tramps and the caravaners
and the railway not far away — it is so true that one can see and hear and
almost smell it all, as if one were back at it again. (See Obituary, p. 279.)
Carnegie Institution of Washington Year Book, No. 15, 191 6. Published
by the Institution.
With the $22,000,000 with which it has been endowed by Mr. Carnegie
and $150,000 added by the Carnegie Corporation to its income for 1917,
the Institution continues its schemes for the conduct, endowment and assist-
ance of research, and for the publication and distribution of documents, and
the maintenance of a library, on the same wide range as before ; except that
it has transferred the publication of " the Classics of International Law " to
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and has discontinued its
department of Economics and Sociology. Detailed reports are given of in-
vestigations and projects in that department, in Botany, Embryology, Experi-
mental Evolution, Historical Research, Marine Biology, Meridian Astrometry,
Terrestrial Magnetism, and in the Geophysical, the Nutrition, and the Mount
Wilson Solar Laboratories. Other investigations are reported in Archaeology,
Bibliography, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, History, Literature, Mathematics,
Physics, Palaeography, etc. There is a good Index. The volume has been
deposited like its predecessors in the University Library.
The "Columbia University Quarterly" for March (Columbia University
Press, New York) contains an article on "Law as a University Study,'' in
which Professor Thomas Reed Powell defends the American system of
teaching law by what is known as the "case method," the analysis and
discussion of cases, and criticizes the suggestion that the law school should
become a school of jurisprudence. Among the other contents of the number
are an address, titled " Immortal Things," delivered by Professor Erskine at
the Annual Commemoration of the University last December, and a delightful
paper on " College in the Seventies " by Mr. Brander Matthews, the well-known
Professor of Dramatic Literature. Incidentally, Professor Matthews mentions
two books read in his teens which had an abiding influence upon him — Matthew
Arnold's "Essays in Criticism " and Russell Lowell's "Among my Books".
University Topics.
ELECTION OF CHANCELLOR.
[HE election of a Chancellor of the University in suc-
cession to the late Earl of Elgin, K.T., took place at
the statutory half-yearly meeting of the General Council
on 14 April. The Vice-Chancellor (Principal Sir George
Adam Smith) presided.
Mr. D. M. M. Milligan, advocate, Convener of the
Business Committee of the Council, briefly referred to
the great loss which the University had sustained in
the too early death of Lord Elgin, and was sure that it would be in ac-
cordance with the wishes of the meeting that they should insert in the
minutes a record of their appreciation of Lord Elgin's services to the
University and their deep regret at his loss. He therefore moved that it be
remitted to a Committee, consisting of the Vice-Chancellor, the Clerk (Mr.
P. J. Anderson), and himself to frame such a record, and send an excerpt of
it to the widow and family of Lord Elgin.
This was at once agreed to.
Mr. Milligan (continuing) said that it fell to the Council to elect a
-successor to Lord Elgin. Following the precedent of the last two occasions,
the Business Committee, in considering this matter, had co-opted representa-
tives of other University bodies. The Selection Committee thus formed had
had only one meeting. That was due to its being unanimously resolved at
that meeting to ask His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., to
allow himself to be suggested to the Council for the position ; and, on being
approached. His Grace at once consented. He had accordingly the honour
of proposing that the Duke of Richmond and Gordon be elected Chancellor.
His Grace, Mr. Milligan went on to say, possessed all the qualities fitting him for
the headship of the University. He was imbued with a very deep and fervent
love of his country and all its great institutions, and was particularly interested
in the University, not only on account of the long hereditary connection of his
family with it, but also because of the large number of students who were
drawn from his estates.
Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray seconded ; and, in doing so, said it had been
the tradition in the Scottish Universities, to a large extent, for the graduates
who constituted the General Councils to invite some one eminent in station
in the province served by each University to accept the office of Chancellor
or head of the University. The local or territorial connection had not in
«very instance been insisted on, but, as a rule, where it had obtained, it had
University Topics 255
proved fruitful of good results. He believed many would agree with him
that even in the case of the Rectorship the two most useful Rectors in
their own University within living memory had been an Emeritus-Professor
and a local nobleman. The Committee of Selection in the present instance,
by the evident unanimity of its choice, showed that it laid no little stress on the
element of local connection. His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon
satisfied that demand in a very high degree. He was by far and away the
most outstanding figure among territorial magnates within the province
served by the University, and, as representing the ducal House of Gordon,
his claims upon Aberdeen graduates made an added appeal.
REMARKABLE FAMILY CONNECTION.
In the case of His Grace, however, there was also the long hereditary con-
nection of his family with the fortunes of the University of Aberdeen. One
had only to turn to the "Calendar," with its list of former Chancellors, to find
that before and since the fusion of the Colleges into one University five
heads of his house had held the office of Chancellor, the earliest of those
being the second Marquis of Huntly, who was Chancellor of King's College
and University from 1643 to 1649. ^^t, coming down to more recent times,
they found that during the whole of the nineteenth century the Dukes of
Gordon, or Richmond, or Richmond and Gordon, were the Chancellors of
either King's College or Marischal College, or of the united Colleges. From
1793 to 1827 Alexander, the fourth Duke of Gordon, was Chancellor of
King's College ; from 18 14 to 1836 George, the fifth Duke of Gordon, whose
statue in granite adorned the eastern approach of Union Street, was Chan-
cellor of Marischal College; from 1836 to i860 Charles, the fifth Duke of
Richmond, was Chancellor of Marischal College; and from 1861 to 1903
Charles, the sixth Duke of Richmond and Gordon, the present Duke's father,
was Chancellor of the University. Thus His Grace's father, grandfather,
great-grand- uncle, and great -great-grandfather held from the close of the
eighteenth century, all through the nineteenth century, and into the twentieth
century, the office of Chancellor in that ancient seat of learning. If there
was anything in heredity, surely such a record was the very best certificate
that could be found for continuing so remarkable a tradition, and entrusting
the dignity of the Chancellorship to the present representative of the Dukes
of Gordon and of Richmond and Gordon.
ASSET FOR POST-WAR DAYS.
But, quite apart from that unique hereditary claim, to which all due
weight, he had no doubt, would be given, His Grace was in other respects
eminently qualified to fill a position of such responsibility as that of Chancellor
of the University. If His Grace had not hitherto taken a prominent part in
University affairs, he (Dr. Murray) did not know that that was any disqualifi-
cation, but the reverse, for, with the far-reaching changes which were sure to
come in the days following the war, the greatest asset in anyone who had to
handle the new situation would be found to be, not pedantry of any kind, but
broad-mindedness and a wide outlook on life. And in that respect His
Grace had been richly blessed, the experiences of life enhancing his natural
endowment. By profession a soldier, he won distinction by his services for
his country during the South African war. For nineteen years he sat in
256 Aberdeen University Review
Parliament as member for one of the Sussex divisions. He had been A.D.C.
to three Sovereigns in succession. One so trained in the camp, the Senate,
and the Court was bound to have acquired just those priceless gifts of wisdom
and judgment which were invaluable in one who had to occupy such a
position as that of the head of a University, and who might be called upon to
play a part of some importance in the conduct of its affairs in the critical
times which lay ahead.
THE PATRIOTIC DEVOTION OF THE DUKE.
In addition to His Grace's other qualifications, there was one which
found almost daily opportunity for its manifestation at the present juncture —
namely, his patriotic devotion, as witnessed in the faithful discharge of the
duties appertaining to his office as Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire and Moray-
shire, the counties in which his estates were principally situated. In that
capacity he had won the esteem and gratitude of all ranks of the people in
those northern parts by the warm interest he had shown in every good cause,
and especially by taking the lead in all movements having for their aim and
object the successful prosecution of the war, and inspiring the community
both by word and example to do their utmost for their country in its hour of
need. To mention only one instance of His Grace's whole-hearted patriotic
devotion. Soon after hostilities broke out, the ducal residence of Gordon
Castle, charmingly situated on the lower reaches of the Spey, was given
over as a V.A.D. hospital, with accommodation for a hundred beds for our
wounded heroes — a deed which spoke more eloquently than words in His
Grace's favour. For those, among other reasons which might be adduced,
he commended to the Council's acceptance the nomination, unanimously
approved by the Business Committee.
There was no other nomination ; and His Grace was unanimously elected
Chancellor. The Installation will take place at the Summer Graduation on
6 July.
THE FINANCES OF THE UNIVERSITY.
Professor Matthew Hay, convener of the Finance Committee of the Uni-
versity Court, submitted his financial statement for the year I9i5-i6at a
meeting of the Court on i May. It showed that during the year the income
of the General Fund, from fees and other sources of revenue, but mainly from
fees, was less by ;£548o than in the last pre-war year ; but the expenditure
was also less by ;^3683, the loss being thus reduced to ;£'i797. This net
loss was considerably less than in the immediately preceding year (19 14- 15),
when the income was less by ;£45i9 and the expenditure less by ;£'i946, the
net loss being thus ;£2573. There was reason to hope that, although the re-
sult for the year now current would not be quite so satisfactory as in 191 5-16,
the net loss would not be so high as it was in the first year of the war. These
successive financial deficits would amount together to a large sum, but they
were qualified by the fact that in the last pre-war year there was a substantial
excess of revenue over expenditure. The losses, too, had been rendered less
embarrassing by the special slump grant of ;£"5ooo from the Treasury to meet
deficiencies of revenue due to the effects of the war. The net result was that
they had been able, thus far, to meet their financial losses without trenching
on their small reserve fund of about jCsooo,
No. of Men
No. of Women
Students.
Students.
732
337
495
332
380
304
236
334
University Topics 257
DECREASE OF STUDENTS.
The decrease in the numbers of students as mentioned by Professor Hay
may be best shown by the following tables of enrolment : —
No. of Students.
1913-14 1069
1914-15 827
1915-16 684
1916-17 570
The reduction of men students in certain of the faculties has been very
great, added the Professor. Thus, in the current year, only 2 students —
5, if 3 students combining Arts are included — have been enrolled in the
Faculty of Law, as contrasted with 21 in 191 3- 14. In Science there are only
20, as against 123; and in Arts only 76 as against 294. The reduction in
the two remaining faculties is not quite so great. In Medicine in the present
academic year there are 123, as compared with 269 in the year preceding the
war; and in Divinity 10, as against 25.
The numbers of women students exhibited no compensating increase, and
even showed a slight decline, but owing to a distinctly larger proportion of
them than formerly being now in the Faculty of Medicine, where the class and
degree figures were considerably higher than in other faculties, the University
was this year benefiting to the extent of from ;£"30o to ;£'4oo. While in
1 9 13- 14 the number of women studying Medicine in the University was 31,
it had risen in the current year to 83, and gave signs of going still higher.
THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE ENTRY EXAMINATION.
A memorial by the Senatus Academicus of the University on the report
of the Royal Commission on the Public Services in India was recently for-
warded to the Secretary of State for India. Attention was therein directed
to the changes proposed in the examination for the Indian and Provincial
Civil Service, and it was urged that very special hardship will result to students
belonging to the north-east of Scotland from these changes. It was con-
tended in particular that the changes' will close the door of the examination to
all but the sons of the wealthy in the north-eastern area, owing to — (i) the
lowering of the age limit, and (2) the highly specialized character of the new
test to be imposed on candidates.
At the outset of the memorial the Senatus claims a very decided interest
in these changes, because it is the body that has mainly supplied the teaching
which has enabled the youth of the north-eastern counties of Scotland to
compete in the examination since its inception. " To the Senatus is due the
fact that the district in question has sent up a larger number of successful
candidates in proportion to population than any other in Scotland, and more-
over, owing to the bursary system of the University and the cheapness of the
education which it has afforded, the very poorest students in the country
have not been debarred from the opportunity of entering on the honourable
career of service in India. Indeed, it may be said that the majority of those
who have gained places in the examination from Aberdeen University have
been drawn from the humbler and far from wealthy classes. The Senatus,
too, would point to the fact that a large number of its students have risen to
17
258 Aberdeen University Review
high positions in the service, and that in the space of time covered by the
years 1908 to 191 7 five of them have been Lieutenant-Governors or Chief-
Commissioners of Provinces."
As regards the lowering of the age limit, it is pointed out that, as things
are at present, the average age of entrants to the University is, owing to the
requirements of the preliminary examination, slightly over eighteen, as con-
trasted with the average of a little over sixteen which prevailed in the period
between 1879 and 1891 (when a similar age Hmit for the Indian Civil Service
examination existed), at which time, too, candidates were able to enter for the
examination after three years' University study. Moreover, by reason of the
broad character of Scottish school education, as contrasted with that given in
the English public schools, even the best students, who might ultimately look
for success in the Indian Civil Service examination, do not now come up con-
spicuously better prepared in individual subjects than they were when the
average age of entrance to the University was lower — indeed, in certain
respects they come up undoubtedly worse prepared. " It is of the utmost
importance," the memorial goes on to say, " that this should be clearly under-
stood, for there is a very prevalent misconception as to the real effect of the
preliminary examination and of the leaving certificate examination which the
Universities accept in lieu thereof. What these examinations have done dur-
ing the last twenty-five years has been to raise the general level of attainment
in the students of the University classes ; they have not raised, and, as things
are, it is impossible that they should raise, the standard of school teaching in
individual subjects to anything approaching the standard reached in the
English public schools, which is often as high, in Classics for example, as that
of Oxford Honours Moderations or the first part of the Cambridge Tripos.
No one who has had experience of Scottish University teaching during the
last thirty years will call this in question." It is clear, therefore, that Scottish
students, and even lads of brilliant promise, must look to the Universities to
bring them up to the standard required in the proposed Indian examination ;
but the new age limit, allowing such students only one year, or at most two
years, of University study, where they previously had three, puts this out of
the question in the vast majority of cases.
The memorial lays special stress on the hardship that must consequently
ensue for the poorer students. "The son of a parent in easy circum-
stances " (it proceeds) " can be sent to study special subjects at the University
at any age thought suitable, without his having gained a bursary or his having
passed the preliminary examination. But for the poor man's son it is of vital
consequence that he should gain a bursary, and he cannot hold this when
gained, nor yet share in the Carnegie Benefaction, unless he has passed the
preliminary examination. The poor student, therefore, will find himself
doubly penalized in relation to the Indian Civil Service examination by the
existing conditions of Scottish education, for as explained in the next para-
graph, he cannot specialize at school, and he reaches the University at an age
that puts him out of the running."
This "next paragraph " deals at some length with the aggravation of the
disability created by the age limit which is produced by the highly specialized
character of the new examination test. After quoting several passages from
the report of the Commissioners, including one on the undesirability of
** allowing the Indian Civil Service examination to be divorced again from the
University Topics 259
ordinary educational curricula," it says — " It is clear that the Commissioners,
in framing their examination syllabus in accordance with these views, have
left Scotland out of account. The proposed examination is not based on the
curricula of the Scottish schools ; it is as thoroughly divorced as it well can be
from the ordinary educational curriculum of Scotland, which, as determined
by the University preliminary and bursary examinations, is broad and not
specialized in character. It may safely be said that there are not more than
three schools in Scotland, and these not attended by the poorer classes, the
curricula of which correspond with the proposed scheme of the Commissioners.
In the north-east of Scotland there is not one."
There then follows a paragraph of a very emphatic and very noticeable
character — "The Senatus finds itself entirely in accord with those who have
pointed out the danger of special preparatory classes for the examination being
instituted by those schools that can afford the expense. This will again play
into the hands of the better classes, and lessen the chances of the humbler,
which by centuries of tradition have been the weightiest intellectual element
in the Universities of Scotland. The examination will tend to become less a
test of real ability in the candidates than of the opportunity they have enjoyed
in the way of training."
The memorial, in conclusion, suggests several modifications of the pro-
posals now made. These include the raising of the upper age limit to twenty
or twenty-one — the only way of "affording an equal chance to all without
distinction of class of developing their faculties for the good of the country " ;
and the construction of an examination which should be in real relation to
the Scottish school curricula, supplemented by study at the University — an
examination the nature of which is indicated. In its final sentence, the
memorial says significantly — "If some such modifications as these be not
adopted, the Senatus cannot disguise its grave apprehension that the im-
portant part played by the north-east of Scotland in the service of India will
no longer be possible for its schools and University".
THE POST-GRADUATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION.
At the meeting of the General Council on 14 April, the Business Com-
mittee reported having appointed as representatives to act with the Court in
drafting the necessary ordinance for the post-graduate degree in Education,
Dr. Charles MacLeod, Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray, and the Clerk.
Mr. Milligan said that for a long time they had been very much interested
in this matter, and therefore they would welcome the communication that the
Court had resolved, not merely to institute a post-graduate Degree in Educa-
tion, but to invite the co-operation of three members of the Council in
drafting the necessary ordinance. This was the first occasion on which the
services of the Council had been asked for in a matter of this kind, and he
hoped the precedent was one which might be followed on future occasions.
The report was approved.
PROPOSED DEGREE IN COMMERCE.
The Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce has sent a memorial to the
University Court suggesting the institution of a degree in Commerce. The
proposal is that a two or three years' course should be instituted leading up
to a degree corresponding to the specialist degrees which are given in other
26o Aberdeen University Review
subjects, such as Divinity, Law, and Agriculture. The course would include
such subjects as Political Economy, Statistics, Commercial Law, Banking,
Accounting, and Geography, and perhaps Mathematics or some other scien-
tific subject. Courses in most of these subjects already exist in the University,
so that new teachers are not required. The subjects which are not at present
provided are Banking, Accounting, and Geography. While a whole-time
lecturer might have to be appointed for the last- mentioned subject, it would
be quite possible to secure the services of a local banker and accountant, who
would become lecturers in their respective subjects, just as practising lawyers
in the city give the necessary lectures on various legal subjects. On 1 7 May
the Court (a number of the Senatus being also present) received a deputation
from the Chamber of Commerce, including the Chairman (Mr. James C.
Glegg), Ex-Lord Provost Maitland, Mr. George Davidson, Secretary of the
Great North of Scotland Railway Company, and Mr. A. T. McRobert, who
spoke to the Memorial. The Court appointed a Committee of the whole
Court to consider the subject, and remitted the Memorial to the Senatus for
its observations thereon.
ADDITIONAL EXAMINERS.
Professor D. A. Gilchrist, of Armstrong College, Newcastle, has been
reappointed an examiner in Agriculture for the current year; Mr. R. A.
H. Gray, of the same College, has been appointed examiner in Agricultural
Botany for the current term ; and Professor Kenneth H. Vickers, also of
Armstrong College, has been appointed additional examiner in History for
the ensuing period of three years.
THE UNIVERSITY AND THE WAR.
The recently-issued list of King's Birthday honours included the following
appointments "for valuable services rendered in connection with military
operations in the field " : —
To be C.B.—
Colonel Douglas Wardrop, C.V.O., Army Medical Service (ret. pay)
(M.B., 1875).
Temporary Colonel James Galloway, Army Medical Service (M.A.,
1883; M.B., 1886; M.D., 1892; F.R.C.S.).
To be C.M.G.—
Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Hosie, late R.A.M.C. (ret. pay) (M.B.,
1883; M.D., 1885).
Lieutenant-Colonel George Scott, late R.A.M.C. (ret. pay) (M.B.,
1885).
Temporary Lieutenant- Colonel Arthur Dawson Milne, East African
Medical Service (M.B., 1892).
The Distinguished Service Order has been awarded to —
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Mackessack, R.A.M.C. (B.Sc, 1892 ;
M.B., 1896). (Seep. 171.)
Captain (acting Lieutenant-Colonel) Alexander Donald Eraser,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1906).
Captain (acting Lieutenant- Colonel) George Mackie, R.A.M.C.
(M.B., 1891).
University Topics 261
Among recipients of the Military Cross have to be included —
Captain Robert Scott Cumming, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 191 5).
Second Lieutenant William Bruce Anderson, Gordon Highlanders
(M.A., 191 1) — subsequently killed in action. (See Obituary.)
Temporary Captain John Low, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1899).
It has also been notified that —
Temporary Captain Archibald S. K. Anderson, R.A.M.C. (M.A.,
1909 ; M.B., 1 914), attached R.N. Field Ambulance, has been
awarded a bar to his Military Cross.
Captain Maurice Forbes White (M.B., 1901), I.M.S., attached 33rd
Punjabi Regiment, a son of the late Mr. John Forbes White,
LL.D., and nephew of Principal Geddes, has been awarded the
Croix de Guerre by the French Government.
The following have been mentioned in dispatches : —
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Fraser, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1894; M.B.,
1898) — second mention.
Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Kyd Morgan, C.M.G., R.A.M.C. (M.B.,
1893).
Lieutenant -Colonel (acting) Alexander Donald Fraser, M.C.,
R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1906) — second mention.
Lieutenant- Colonel (acting) George Mackie, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1891).
Major (acting Lieutenant- Colonel) Alfred John Williamson,
R.A.M.C. (M.A., 1905; M.D.).
Major M. B. H. Ritchie, D.S.O., R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1904).
Captain Robert Adam, 7th Gordon Highlanders (M.A., 1900 ; B.L.)
— second mention.
Captain John Kirton, R.A.M.C. (M.A., 191 1 ; M.B., 1914).
Captain David Murdoch Marr, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1914).
Captain William Fraser Munro, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1903).
Captain W. J. Webster, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1915).
Captain (temporary) Simon J. C. Fraser, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1893).
Captain (temporary) J. Kirton, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1914).
Captain (temporary) William Russell, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1890;
M.D., 1896) — died previously.
Captain (temporary) Alexander Pyper Taylor, Seaforth Highlanders
(M.A., 1907; B.Sc).
Captain (temporary) Robert Tindall, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1909).
Rev. Joseph Johnston, Army Chaplains' Department (M.A., 1894).
A list of officers whose names have been brought to the notice of the
Secretary of State for War for valuable services rendered in connection with
the war included the following, among others —
Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Colonel David D, B. Stewart
(T.F. Reserve) (M.A., 1882).
Lieutenant-Colonel George H. Bower, Gordon Highlanders (T.F.)
(retired) — now in command of a battalion of the Black Watch
(M.A., 1891).
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Edward W. Watt, Gordon
Highlanders (M.A., 1898).
Major William G. Craigen, R.F.A. (M.A., 1905 ; LL.B.).
Captain (temporary Major) Robert Bruce, R.E. (M.A., 1905 ; B.L.).
Captain John Reid, R.E. (M.A., 1893).
262 Aberdeen University Review
The Territorial Decoration has been bestowed upon —
Lieutenant- Colonel John Everard Rae, R.F.A. (M.A., 1891).
Lieutenant-Colonel (Temporary) George Alexander Troup, R. A. M.C.
(M.B., 1894 ; M.D.).
Major James William Garden, R.F.A. (M.A., 1899; B.L.).
Colonel Stuart Macdonald, C.M.G., R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1884), has been
awarded the French decoration of the Croix de Guerre.
Colonel J. Scott Riddell, M.V.O. (M.A., 1884; M.B., CM., 1888),
Senior Surgeon, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, has been appointed Consultant
Surgeon for emergency duties in connection with the Royal Navy in the
district from Montrose to Elgin.
Lieutenant- Colonel Walter Smith Cheyne, of the Territorial Force (M.B.,
1876; M.D., 1887), has been appointed temporary Captain and Medical
Officer to the City of Aberdeen Volunteer Regiment.
Lieutenant George Grant Macdonald, R.E. (B.Sc. Agr., 1909), has
received orders to take up control in the development of agriculture in
Egypt and Salonika. He received his agricultural education at the North of
Scotland College of Agriculture, and after graduating received the appoint-
ment of Inspector of Agricultural Education under the Anglo- Egyptian
Government. He is a son of the late Mr. John Macdonald, farmer. Byres,
Fochabers.
Professor W. J. R. Simpson, C.M.G. (M.B., 1876; M.D.), Professor of
Hygiene at King's College, London, and vice-president of the London School
of Surgical Medicine, is now in charge of a Serbian hospital at the Salonika
front.
Rev. George Gray (M.A., 1907), minister of Gallatown United Free
Church, Kirkcaldy, has met with an accident in France, where he is acting as
chaplain. He sustained his injuries by falling into a shell hole. He is re-
ported to be making a good recovery.
Dr. Thomas Craig Boyd (M.A., 1904; M.D.), Geraldton, Australia, was
mobilized for medical duty in November, in connection with the examination
of Citizen Forces for the Australian Commonwealth ; and in the following
month was granted the honorary commission of Captain in the Australian
Army Medical Corps.
Dr. David Horn (M.B., 1907), Toowoomba, Queensland, is serving as a
Captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps, and is the Officer Command-
ing the 24th Regiment of the Corps. He is Medical Officer in Charge of
the Darling Downs area and examiner of recruits for the same district.
Rev. William Dey Fyfe (M.A. [Edin.]; B.D., 1910), who was elected
minister of Rattray Parish Church, Perthshire, in 191 5 (see Vol. Ill, 83), has
enlisted as a combatant. The congregation, prior to his leaving, presented
him with a gold wristlet watch and a purse of Treasury notes.
Rev. S. W. Cameron (M.A., 191 1), formerly assistant in Oldmachar
Parish Church, and Rev. John Barclay Davie (M.A., 191 2), formerly assistant
in the West Parish Church, Aberdeen, have enlisted in the Royal Garrison
Artillery.
Rev. J. B. Burnett (M.A., 1886), minister of the parish of Fetteresso,
offered his services to the Governors of the Mackie Academy, Stonehaven, as
a teacher, owing to the depletion of the teaching staff; and due advantage
has been taken of his offer.
University Topics 263
Rev. Richard Henderson (M.A., 1886; B.D.), minister of the parish
of Longside, Aberdeen, and Rev. Canon Robert Mackay (M.A., 1881),
rector of the Episcopal Church, have undertaken teaching work in the
Longside public schools during the absence of the head masters on military
duty.
MR. W. STEWART THOMSON AND THE "REVIEW".
The General Council, at its meeting on 14 April, re-elected Dr. Robert
Walker, Mr. W. Stewart Thomson, and Mr. Theodore Watt members of the
Committee of Management of the " Aberdeen University Review ".
The Principal said that seemed a fitting occasion for expressing to Mr.
Stewart Thomson, who was retiring from the convenership of the Business
Committee of the "Review" and from the interim secretaryship, their grati-
tude for his devoted labours to the success and management of the "Review ".
It was practically upon Mr. Stewart Thomson's initiation that the idea of
founding the "University Review" was brought before the General Council,
and he had served the interests of the "Review" with zeal ever since. His
retirement now was due to his undertaking other labours, and they could not
allow him to go without telling him how much they appreciated all that he
had done.
Mr. Stewart Thomson expressed his thanks, and said that from communi-
cations he had received, the "Review" was very much appreciated all over
the world.
Personalia.
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., the new Chancellor of the
University, has appointed Principal Sir George Adam Smith Vice-Chancellor.
The Principal has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh.
Professor Baillie has gone to London for war work at the Admiralty during
the summer. Mr. Henry Sturt, M.A., conducts his classes in his absence.
The Deans of the several Faculties for the current year have been appointed
as follows : Arts — Professor Souter ; Science — Professor Hendrick ; Divinity
— Professor Cowan ; Law — Professor Irvine ; Medicine — Professor Shennan.
Sir John Fleming (LL.D., 1902), the Rector's Assessor, has been elected
M.P. for South Aberdeen, in succession to Mr. G. B. Esslemont, retired,
defeating Professor J. Robertson Watson, of Glasgow, and Mr. F. Pethick
Lawrence.
The Moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of England
this year was Rev. Dr. Alexander Alexander (M.A., 1874; D.D., 1913),
minister of the Presbyterian Church at Waterloo, Liverpool. He is a
native of Forgue, Aberdeenshire. He studied divinity at the Aberdeen
Free Church College, was for some time a Professor in the Madras College,
and, before being translated to Waterloo, was minister of the McCheyne
Memorial Church, Dundee. At the meeting of the Synod in Manchester on
8 May, Principal Sir George Adam Smith, who attended as Moderator of the
United Free Church, conveyed to Dr. Alexander the congratulations of his
Alma Mater.
Rev. William Browne (B.A. [R.U.I.]; B.D., 191 1), minister of the quoad
sacra Parish of Portsoy, has been elected minister of Trinity Parish Church,
Aberdeen. Mr. Browne studied at the Queen's College, Belfast, and in 1908
graduated B.A. at the Royal University, Dublin. From Belfast he proceeded
to Aberdeen University, and on entering the Divinity Hall of King's College
he secured the first place in the bursary examination, gaining the Knox com-
petition bursary of £,20^ a year, tenable for three years. In his classes he
carried off a number of prizes. At the close of his last session he graduated
B.D., in the examination for which he won the Brown scholarship, which is
" awarded to the student who gives the best papers in the ordinary degree ".
In an open and public elocution competition at Belfast in 1906 he was de-
clared the winner of a medal, and in his last session in Divinity he obtained
the first prize for sacred elocution in Aberdeen University. For about six
Personalia 265
months during the college vacation of 1 910 he acted as student-missionary at
Culloden Moor Mission Church. In March, 1911, he was put on the leet,
and, after preaching, elected by congregational vote for the vacant assistantship
in Arbroath Parish Church, where he acted as second minister for one year
and nine months. In December, 191 2, he was elected minister at Portsoy.
Rev. Professor Cooper, D.D., Glasgow, this year's Moderator of the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (see pp. 176-7), was presented
with Moderator's robes and lace by the congregation of the East Parish
Church, Aberdeen, of which he was minister from 1 881 to 1898, and also with
a silver salver, a gift to Mrs. Cooper. Mr. D. M. M. Milligan, advocate,
in making the presentation, said Dr. Cooper's old congregation desired to
take the opportunity afforded by his selection as Moderator of showing him
that they still cherished a memory of his devoted service as their minister ;
that they had watched with pride and thankfulness the great service he had
been permitted to render to his Church and country ; and that they rejoiced
with him that a lifetime thus honourably engaged had been crowned by his
designation for the highest position which the Church had in its power to
bestow. Professor Cooper, in the course of his reply in acknowledgment,
said he was informed that the late Principal Pirie of Aberdeen, who was
Moderator in 1864, was the first man to introduce lace in connection with
the Moderator's robes.
Rev. James Coutts (M.A., 1882), minister of the quoad sacra Parish of
Wormit, Fifeshire, has been elected minister of the Parish of Logie-Buchan,
Aberdeenshire. He was formerly minister of the quoad sacra Parish of
Ardallie.
Professor A. R. Cushny, University of London (M.A., 1886; M.B., 1889;
M.D., 1892 ; LL.D., 191 1), is a member of a very strong medical committee
appointed by Lord D'Abernon to investigate certain aspects of inebriety,
under the auspices of the Liquor Control Board. He acted as one of the
scientific members of Lord James's Royal Commission on Whisky, which in-
vestigated the rival merits of pot still and patent still spirits.
Rev. Ernest Denny Logie Danson (M.A., 1902) has been nominated by
the Archbishop of Canterbury to be Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak (in
Borneo), in succession to Bishop Mounsey, who recently resigned owing to ill
health. The new Bishop is a son of the late Rev. J. M. Danson (D.D.,
Aberd., 1892), Rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, and
Dean of the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. He was educated at the
Aberdeen Grammar School and at Glenalmond, and later at Aberdeen Uni-
versity, where in 1902 he graduated M.A. with honours in philosophy. He
afterwards studied at the Edinburgh Theological Hall. In 1906 he was
ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Brechin in St. Paul's Episcopal
Church, Dundee, where he remained five years. He then offered himself for
the mission field, and was sent to the diocese of Singapore, and at present is
working in the Federated Malay States. During the illness of his late father,
Rev. E. D. L. Danson was for a time connected with St. Andrew's Church
(now Cathedral Church), Aberdeen. In a letter recently received by a friend
the new Bishop mentioned that in the Malay States on last St. Andrew's Day
he had played the bagpipes.
266 Aberdeen University Review
Mr. Sidney Knight Finlayson (M.A., 191 3) has been licensed to preach
by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.
Dr. Herbert William Glashan (M.B., 1907) is now (and has been for some
years) Medical Officer at the Natal Mental Hospital, Pietermaritzburg, South
Africa.
Rev. Dr. James Gordon Gray (M.A., Marischal College, 1859; D.D.,
[American]), of the Scottish Presbyterian Church, Rome, attained the jubilee
of his ordination in January last. He has been thirty-six years in Rome, and
has been distinguished for the guidance and impulse he has given to the
Presbyterian Church in Italy.
Mr. James Masson Hector (B.Sc, 1904), Plant Pathologist, University
College, Reading, has been appointed Professor of Agricultural Botany,
Transvaal University College, Pretoria. He is a son of Rev. John Hector
(M.A., 1866; D.D., 1894), Aberdeen, late of Calcutta.
A crucifix has been erected at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Gallow-
gate, Aberdeen, as a memorial of the late Lieutenant- Colonel Arthur Hugh
Lister, C.M.G., B.A. {M.B., CM. [Aberd.], 1895 ; M.D., 1904).
The- volume on " Celtic Mythology and Religion," by Dr. Alexander
MacBain, Inverness (M.A., 1880 ; LL.D., 1901), reviewed on p. 248, con-
tains an introductory chapter by Professor W. J. Watson, Edinburgh (M.A.,
1886; LL.D., 1910), which gives a brief sketch of one who, the Professor
says, is " generally and rightly regarded as the greatest of our Scottish Celtic
scholars," and whose researches and original contributions, as embodied in his
"Etymological Gaelic Dictionary," "has raised Gaelic philology to the highest
scientific level ". Mr. MacBain was a native of Glenfeshie, in Badenoch, and
was bred in a Gaelic atmosphere and in a district full of the clan spirit and
clan traditions. In his early years he had his share of the hardships of the
Highland lad of humble station. He was educated at Insch School, and
from December, 1870, till mid- April, 187 1, he taught, quite alone, the school
of Dunmullie, Boat of Garten. After some months of attendance at Baldow
School, where he began Greek, he got work on the Ordnance Survey, first in
Scotland, then in Wales.
He had, however, no intention of remaining permanently in the Survey ; his aim all
along was, somehow or other, to work his way to the University. His craving for know-
ledge of every kind was intense; his means of gratifying it were slender; but he never
lost an opportunity. Before leaving Badenoch he had made good progress in English,
History, Latin, and Mathematics, and had contrived, by dint of purchase and borrowing,
to read a great deal of sound but exceedingly miscellaneous literature. He had tried his
hand at poetry and had given it up. He had read astronomy and done some architectural
drawing, stirred thereto by seeing the plans of some new buildings on the Mackintosh
estate. He had even tried painting. On the Ordnance Survey he added materially to hiS
stock of knowledge and became expert in the operations of surveying, but in so far as his
main purpose was concerned, the service was a failure, for he left it in 1873 as poor as
when he entered it.
Succeeding in obtaining one of the Grammar School bursaries provided
under the scheme of the Rev. Dr. J. Calder Macphail, MacBain, in the
autumn of 1874, entered the Grammar School of Old Aberdeen, then under
the Rectorship of Dr. William Dey.
Personalia 267
Two years later he entered King's College as second bursar, and could at last look
forward with confidence to some realization of his ambition. Here he is said to have
impressed his fellow-students as the ablest man of his year, a year which included James
Adam, afterwards of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, foremost Platonist of his time.
Though a good classical scholar, MacBain read for honours in philosophy, a subject which
in after life he reckoned one of the most barren of studies, and graduated in 1880.
Shortly after graduating, he was appointed Rector of Raining's School,
Inverness, and occupied the post till 1894, when the school was transferred
to the Inverness School Board ; thereafter he was officially connected with
the secondary department of the Inverness High Public School. He died
suddenly in Stirhng in 1907, while only in his fifty-second year.
Professor Watson concludes his sketch with a detailed account of the
Celtic studies which won MacBain a world-wide reputation and a eulogistic
appreciation of their worth and their influence.
Sir William MacGregor, G.C.M.G., C.B., late Acting High Commissioner
for the Western Pacific (see Vol. II, 78, 180), has been elected a member of
the Athenaeum Club under the rule authorizing the annual selection for
membership of persons of distinguished eminence in science, literature, the
arts, or for public service.
The Geological Society of London, at its annual general meeting on 16
February, awarded the balance of the proceeds of the Murchison Geological
Fund to Dr. William Mackie, Elgin (M.A., 1878, with Natural Science
honours; M.B., 1888; M.D. ; D. P. H.), in recognition of his contributions
to the geology of Northern Scotland.
Dr. Mackie (said the President of the Geological Society in presenting the award), a
skilled chemist as well as a keen petrologist, has utilized in this way his leisure as a medical
practitioner during the last twenty years.
By his investigation of the sandstones of Eastern Moray he has thrown light both oit
the source of the material and on the climatic conditions which prevailed during its deposi-
tion. In the cement of these sandstones he detected traces of the heavy metals, and his
inquiry led to the discovery in quantity of barytes and fluor in the Elgin Trias. His petro-
graphical work includes an interesting study of the granites of the North of Scotland, and
he has also carried out a large series of chemical analyses of igneous and sedimentary-
rocks in order to elucidate theoretical questions suggested in the course of his researches.
His recent discovery of plant-bearing cherts in the Old Red Sandstone of Rhynie
(Aberdeenshire) has added a new interest to that formation. Dr. Kidston and Professor
Lang recognize these cherts as silicified layers of peats, and a new class of vascular cryp-
togams, the Psilophy tales, has been made for the reception of the plants which they con-
tain.
Mr. Lachlan Mackinnon (M.A., 1875) has succeeded the late Mr. James
Duguid as President of the Aberdeen Society of Advocates.
A proposal to revise the conditions attaching to the award of the Maclaurin
bursary at Edinburgh University has recalled the fact that the bursary was
founded by Colin Maclaurin, at one time Professor of Mathematics in the
University. Previous to being appointed to the Edinburgh Chair (in 1725)
Maclaurin was for eight years the Mathematical Professor at Marischal Col-
lege. He got into trouble by going abroad and not attending to his classes
for nearly three years (see P. J. Anderson's " Records of Marischal College,'^
Vol. I, 147).
268 Aberdeen University Review
Rev. Neil Meldrum (M.A., 1902 ; B.D.), Chaplain, St. Andrew's Church
•of Scotland, Egmore, Madras, has been elected minister of the Parish of
Forteviot, Perthshire.
The term of office of Sir James Scorgie Meston, K.C.S.I. (LL.D., 1913)
(see p. 178), as Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and
Oudh, which he has held since September, 191 2, has been extended to
November, when he is to be succeeded by Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler,
Lieutenant-Governor of Burma.
The honorary freedom of Manchester was recently conferred on Sir James
Meston, as well as upon the Maharajah of Bikanir arid Sir Satyendra Prassana
Sinha, the other Indian representatives at the Imperial War Council. The
three were garlanded with flowers on behalf of the Indian residents of the city.
Sir James Meston was subsequently presented with the freedom of Lon-
don (contained in a golden casket), along with the Maharajah and Sir Satyen-
dra Prasanna Sinha, General Smuts, the South African Minister of Defence,
and Sir Edward Morris, the Prime Minister of Newfoundland. On being
formally presented for the honour, he was described as a brilliant example of
the devoted band of Civil Servants who spend their lives in every clime for
the advancement and benefit of the country in which they are serving, and of
the Empire. In a speech in acknowledgment, Sir James said that was per-
haps the first time that a member of the permanent public service of India
had been honoured with the freedom of the City of London during his term
of office.
Mr. D. M. M. Milligan, advocate, Aberdeen (M.A., 1881), has been ap-
pointed by the judges of the Court of Session one of the examiners under the
Law Agents Act, 1875, in room of the late Mr. James Duguid, advocate,
Aberdeen.
Rev. James Milne, Thames, Auckland, New Zealand (M.A., 1887), has
sent us a pamphlet — " My Advocacy of the Gothenburg Principle, or State
Control of the Liquor Traffic ". Mr. Milne, it seems, became a supporter
of the Gothenburg system when acting as assistant minister in the South
Parish Church, Aberdeen. Since then he has occupied charges in Sydney,
and in Oamaru and Auckland, in New Zealand ; he was for a time minister
of the Caledonian Church in London ; and he afterwards returned to the
Auckland province, certain members of his family requiring a milder climate.
Wherever he has been, he has argued strenuously for the adoption of the
Gothenburg system, and his pamphlet recounts the work he has done in
advocating State purchase and control, principally in Sydney and Auckland,
by means of discussions in Presbyteries and the press, interviews with Prime
Ministers, and so on. Quite recently, he visited Sydney, where he addressed
legislators on a proposal of his to apply the Gothenburg principle to public-
houses which had been acquired by the Government in certain districts of the
city. " It is quite possible," said the " Christchurch Press," " that an experi-
ment in liquor administration will be made along the lines suggested by the
New Zealand minister."
Rev. James Home Morrison (M.A., 1892), United Free Church, Falkland,
Fifeshire, has been elected minister of Newhills U.F. Church, Aberdeenshire.
Personalia 269
He is the author of " On the Trail of the Pioneers," described as " one of the
most fascinating of missionary volumes published in recent days ".
A New York correspondent informs us that Rev. Alexander Murray, D.D.,
member of St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia in 1790, is buried in Christ
Churchyard there, and on his tomb is inscribed : —
Born in North Britain.
Educated in King's College, Aberdeen.
Departed this life September 14, 1793.
A truly honest man.
Reader, whoe'er thou art.
Strive to attain this character.
A Wit's a feather, and a Chiefs a rod,
An honest Man's the noblest work of God.
The Dr. Murray referred to was the founder of the Murray Lectures at
King's College. He was a native of New Deer, entered King's College in
Session 1742-43, and graduated M.A. in 1746. He appears to have gone
to Pennsylvania as a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in 1763. His Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of D.D. in
1784.
Rev. Nathaniel Munro Murray (M.A., 1905) has been elected minister of
Larbert West United Free Church.
An imposing monument has been erected in the cemetery at Williamstown,
Victoria, in memory of Rev. Robert Murray (M.A., 1883 ; B.D. [St. Andrews],
1895), minister of the Cecil Street Presbyterian Church — a, younger brother
of Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray, minister of Grey friars, Aberdeen — who died
on 9 October, 1915 (see Vol. Ill, 189). The monument is the outcome of
a public subscription, a general wish having been expressed when Mr. Murray
died that the public of Williamstown should, in some tangible way, mark their
appreciation of his long and self-denying labours in the interests of the com-
munity. Over;^i5o was contributed. The monument takes the form of a
tall column resting on a base of Aberdeen granite specially brought from Aber-
deenshire, and is suitably inscribed, the inscription bearing that the memorial
was erected " as a tribute of affection to a man who was always true and faith-
ful ". The unveiling ceremony was performed, in the presence of a large
gathering of citizens, by the Mayor of Williamstown, who eulogized the life
and work of Mr. Murray. Rev. John Caldwell, North Williamstown, an in-
timate friend of Mr. Murray for twenty-one years, also addressed the gathering.
He said Mr. Murray's character was typified in the monument erected. " The
granite spoke of strength, and Mr. Murray was a strong man, never to be turned
by one hair's-breadth from the path he conceived to be right. But the monu-
ment spoke also of beauty, of grace, and Mr. Murray had not only strength,
but charm as well. That monument would perpetuate the memory of one
who had wielded a great influence in Williamstown — an influence which had
always been on the side of justice and charity." A mural tablet in memory
of Mr. Murray has also been placed in the Cecil Street Church, of which he
was minister for twenty years. It was unveiled by Mr. Caldwell, who, in the
course of a sermon preached on the occasion, said : "In his career he had
270 Aberdeen University Review
known but few — very few — of such a type as Mr. Murray. He was the most
eager, most impetuous, and most original in his methods of doing good of
any man he (Mr. Caldwell) had known."
Sir William Robertson Nicoll, criticizing (as "Claudius Clear" in the
*' British Weekly") a new history of journalism, "The Street of Ink," re-
marked : " Newspapers pass quickly and journalists pass quickly, and confi-
dential papers are burnt, and so the secrets of the Press are buried deep. I
have myself almost completed a history of the periodical press in Victorian
times, but I deal only with weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews. Should
the volume ever be published, I hope it will be found that I have got hold of
some vanishing secrets while there was yet time."
Rev. John Cameron Peddie (M.A., 1910) has been elected minister of the
united congregations of the United Free Church at Kennoway and Windy-
gates, Fifeshire.
Dr. John M. Rattray, Frome, Somerset (M.A., 1877 ; M.B., 1882 ; M.D.,
1 891) — brother-in-law of the late Mr. Alexander Mackie — was violently at-
tacked by a crazy patient on 22 April and very seriously injured. The doctor
was called early that day — a Sunday morning — to visit a Surgeon-Captain
Ryall, who had a recurrence of a brain attack and had become exceed-
ingly violent. Captain Ryall, apprehending that he was to be placed
under restraint, flew into a passion, and got possession of a short and heavy
sword with a two-edged blade, with which he aimed a blow at Dr. Rattray's
head. This blow was evaded, and Dr. Rattray hurried out of the house to
•obtain assistance. He was walking along the avenue to his motor-car when
he was pursued by Captain Ryall, now armed with a sporting deerstalker's
rifle and a supply of cartridges. The captain, getting within a distance of
about twenty yards of the doctor, took deliberate aim at him and fired.
The shot struck the doctor's left elbow, splintered the bone of the forearm,
and emerged at the wrist. It was the first of some sixty to seventy shots
-which were discharged from the rifle before Captain Ryall could be secured
and put under restraint. Dr. Rattray took refuge in a lodge and managed
to secure the door, but Captain Ryall endeavoured to get in and, failing, fired
at the doctor through the window ; and no one was able to approach to render
the doctor assistance for two hours and a half. The assailant was only over-
come by the intervention of the police and a large party of military who were
called out, Captain Ryall being eventually " brought down " by a couple of
shots. Dr. Rattray's injuries are serious, and it is feared that he will be un-
able to use the arm for the greater part of a year and may probably never
recover its full use.
Mr. John Reith (M.A., 1891) has been appointed Rector of Bo'ness
Academy Higher Grade School and Junior Student Centre. For the last
twenty-four years Mr. Reith had been Science and Mathematical Master in
the school of which he has now been appointed head.
Rev. James Smith (M.A., 1913 ; B.D., 1916) was in February last ap-
pointed assistant to Dr. Thomas Burns, Lady Glenorchy's Church, Edinburgh,
ito take Dr. Burns's place during the latter's absence on duty as a chaplain.
A few days later, he was elected minister of Yoker Parish Church, Glasgow ;
Personalia 271
and he was duly inducted on 13 April. He had a distinguished scholastic
career, was assistant to the Professor of Logic and Metaphysics, and took the
B.D. degree with honours in Hebrew, Biblical Criticism, and Systematic
Theology.
Rev. James Tindal Soutter (M.A., 1910), formerly of St. Andrew's Church,
Nairobi, British East Africa (see p. 79), was some time ago elected minister
of the Parish of Whitekirk, but objection was taken to his appointment by
several members of the congregation, on the allegation that illegal coach-
hiring had taken place on the day of election for the purpose of taking voters
to the poll. The Presbytery of Dunbar held an inquiry, but it transpired
from the evidence that carriages had been used on the polling-day, but had
been given gratuitously by the coach-hirer in order that his horses might be
exercised. The Presbytery accordingly sustained the call, and Mr. Soutter
was duly inducted to the charge in March last.
Rev. George L. S. Thompson {M.A., 1913), who, although a member of
the Church of Scotland, was recently acting as locum tenens in the South
United Free Church, Fraserburgh, has been appointed assistant minister of
Rubislaw Parish Church.
Rev. Dr. John White, Youngson, Poona (M.A., 1873; B.D., 1884; D.D.,
1893), is retiring from the missionary work of the Church of Scotland after
forty- two years' service.
A new and thoroughly revised edition — the fourth — of Professor J. Arthur
Thomson's " The Study of Animal Life," has just been published.
" The Intermixture ,of Races in Asia Minor : Some of its Causes and
Effects," by Sir W. Mitchell Ramsay, has just been published from the
Proceedings of the British Academy.
Professor Souter has edited the notes of the late Professor John E. B.
Mayor's lectures on the "Apology" of Tertullian. The volume — which
has just been published by the Cambridge University Press — contains Ochler's
text of Tertullian, with an English translation by Professor Souter.
Professor Terry, the first part of whose book on the sources of " Bach's
Chorals," dealing with the hymns and hymn melodies of the " Passions " and
Oratorios was reviewed on pp. 57-9, has completed Part II, in which the
Cantatas and Motets are considered in the same way. It has just been
published by the Cambridge University Press. The melodies are printed in
their earliest form, and where possible Bach's variations of them are traced to
an earlier tradition or attributed to himself. The hymn melodies of the organ
works are reserved for a third part, now in the press.
Professor Terry has also collaborated with other three writers in the
production of " Italy : A History from Medieval to Modern Times," just
published by the Oxford University Press.
A sermon preached in the University Chapel on 4 March by Rev. James
B. Burnett of Fetteresso (M.A., 1886 ; B.D.) has been published in pamphlet
272 Aberdeen University Review
form. It is entitled, " The Fear of the Lord," and is an excellent example
of Mr. Burnett's preaching — practical, earnest, and eloquent.
The publication of Mr. W. Keith Leask's " Interamna Borealis : Being
Memories and Portraits from an old University town between the Don
and the Dee," readers will regret to learn, is unavoidably "held up" till
Christmas — this in consequence of the severely restricted production of paper
and the no less serious reduction of employees in printing establishments.
The work, which should prove a mine of University and Local information
and reminiscence, is, we understand, in type, and the notes and addenda have
been duly sent in ; but progress with it, for the causes mentioned, has to be
abandoned meanwhile.
A volume of poems by the late Captain Brian Brooke (student in Agri-
culture, 1906-7) has just been published. Captain Brian Brooke, who was
an officer in the Gordon Highlanders, died from wounds received in the
fighting on the Somme (see p. 91). He was a son of Captain Brooke of
Fairley, and came of a family of soldiers. At the age of eighteen he went
out to settle on land bought by his father in British East Africa. There he
became the friend of the natives, and earned the name of Korongo, or " The
Big Man," while he was called " The Boy " by the Europeans. After two
years he went to Ceylon to try plantation life, but he did not like the life,
and returned to British East Africa. At the outbreak of war he hastened to
enlist as a trooper in the British East African Force, and rose to be captain :
he lost two of his fingers in the fighting, and indeed narrowly escaped with
his life. The news of the death of his brother — Captain J. A. O. Brooke,
who was awarded the posthumous honour of the Victoria Cross — brought him
to England, and he obtained a commission in the Gordon Highlanders. He
went to France, and there met his death, being mentioned in dispatches for
his gallantry. Most of his poems appeared first in the " Leader " of South
Africa, and many of them deal with the wastrel and the ne'er-do-weel — types
which he had met on his travels in British East Africa. Miss M. P. Willcocks,
the novelist, has written a preface for the volume.
" Community : A Sociological Study," by R. M. Maciver, D.Phil., Uni-
versity of Toronto, has just been published ; and among works announced for
early publication are " The Church and Sacraments," by Rev. P. T. Forsyth ;
and " Pantheism and the Value of Life," by Professor W. S. Urquhart.
The "Aberdeen University Library Bulletin" for April contains "Notes
on the Library of the Earl of Erroll, Slains Castle, Aberdeenshire," by Mr.
James F. Kellas Johnstone, embracing interesting particulars of the collection
bequeathed to the 12th Earl by Bishop Drummond and of the collection
made by the 13th Earl and Alexander Falconer, husband of the Countess
Mary (14th), and other inheritors of the title. The two collections are to be
disposed of, either together or separately, by private treaty.
At the spring graduation on 23 March, the degree of M.A. was conferred
on twenty- three students (on four of these with first-class honours, and on
one with second-class honours) ; B.Sc. on two ; B.D. on four ; and M.B.,
Ch.B. on eighteen (on two of these with second-class honours) — forty-seven
in all. Of the arts graduates, nineteen were women and only four men —
Personalia 273
these last including Andrew J. B. Taylor, who fell in action on 28 December.
The graduates in Medicine, on the other hand, comprised only two women.
In Science the sexes were equally represented. The degree of M.D. was
conferred on Dr. James Clark Bell, Aberdeen, and Dr. George Riddoch,
Rothiemay, at present medical officer in charge of the Empire Hospital
for Officers, Vincent Square, London.
The Liddel prize for Greek verse was awarded to Miss Katharine B. M.
Wattie, daughter of Mr. James McPherson Wattie, H.M. Chief Inspector of
Schools (M.A., 1883). She graduated with first-class honours in Classics and
with distinction in Greek History. Miss Wattie also carried off the Simpson
Greek Prize and the Robbie Gold Medal, and the Seafield Gold Medal in
Latin, and, though she won the Dr. Black Prize in Latin (she was the only
candidate), she was ineligible to hold it. She has since been awarded a
classical scholarship of ;£'5o for three years at Newnham College, Cambridge.
Professor Shennan, in presenting the graduates in medicine, stated that
in no fewer than four instances, Messrs. Lumsden, M 'Robert, Garden, and
Irvine, they had attained much distinction in their final. That meant 85 per
cent and over; and very near came two others who graduated with distinction
— Mr. Milne and Mr. Thom. As a result of the whole professional examina-
tion, two, Mr. Lumsden and Mr. M 'Robert, graduated with second-class
honours ; but he wished to point out that second-class honours in Aberdeen
meant a very high standard, perhaps a higher standard than would obtain
elsewhere. The great majority of the men had been acting as resident
physicians and surgeons in Aberdeen and other hospitals, so that they had
to get up their " final " work while also pursuing their professional duty.
That they had reached a very high standard in the final examinations did
them very much credit.
" Scottish Country Life " for May, referring to the election of the Duke
of Richmond and Gordon as Chancellor of the University, said — "The story
is told of how the last Duke of the older line [Duke of Gordon] used, at the
beginning of the College session, to send his carriages out westward upon the
roads leading into Aberdeen, and how many a poor lad who had been earning
his way by work during the summer at the making of the great Caledonian
Canal was indebted on these occasions to a welcome lift on the last stage of
his journey, and sometimes to a not less heartening conversation with the
kindly Duke himself."
At the opening of the Chemistry Class on 9 March, Mr. James Taylor,
who has retired, after forty years' service, from the position of lecture-table
assistant in the Chemistry Department, was presented with a cheque for;^7o,
together with a silver salver, subscribed for by graduates, mainly of the medical
and science faculties, and the staff and students of the University. Professor
Soddy presided at the presentation ceremony. He recalled the fact that Mr.
Taylor had served under four professors, and had seen great changes in the
building and other conditions under which the chemistry class was carried
on. The present chemistry class was the first for forty years that Mr. Taylor
had not ministered to. Mr. Taylor made a gracious acknowledgment of the
kindness which had all along been heaped upon him. The gifts now pre-
sented to him he considered as a very satisfactory " discharge ".
18
Obituary.
The death of Rev. Dr. Andrew Murray, of the Dutch Reformed Church
in South Africa (M.A., Marischal College, 1845 I D.D., 1898), was mentioned
in our last issue (see p. 185), but the notice then given may be supplemented
by particulars derived from a coaple of biographical sketches which appeared
in the "Cape Times" of 19 January. Dr. Murray, by the way, died on 18
January, not on 19 January, as was formerly stated. After graduating at
Aberdeen (where he lived with his uncle, Rev. Dr. John Murray, the first
minister of the North Free Church), and then studying for some time at the
University of Utrecht, he returned to South Africa, his native land, and com-
menced his work as a ** predikant " of the Dutch Reformed Church when
he had only passed his twentieth year. He had charges successively at
Bloemfontein, Worcester, and Cape Town, but it was at Wellington that " his
powers of intellect and grace were called into fullest exercise ". He became
noted as a famous preacher, having been described as " the John Knox of
South Africa " ; he headed revival conferences, and earnestly advocated the
cause of missions. At the same time, he was a practical and exceedingly
able man of affairs, and originated a number of important movements,
educational as well as ecclesiastical. He occupied a distinct position as a
Church leader, and exercised an enormous influence, which was greatly con-
tributed to by his saintly character. "Few men in South Africa" (says one
of the sketches) " have had an influence more widespreading than he ; few
have left such an impress upon their time and their generation. . . . There
is hardly an institution — ecclesiastical, educational, philanthropic, religious —
within the purview of the Dutch Reformed Church which has not benefited
by his advice, or received a strong impulse from his prayers ; few of these
institutions have not been initiated by him."
In the course of his long life. Dr. Murray was on six different occasions
elected Moderator of the Synod of his Church. On the first occasion, when
his aged father, then minister of Graaf Reinet, rose to address the Chair with
the customary words " Right Reverend Moderator," the son also rose, and
remained standing till the father had concluded. On another occasion. Dr.
Murray filled the Moderator's Chair at a time of crisis in the Church, and in
the course of the controversy, proceedings against the Synod were instituted
in the Supreme Court of the Cape. The Synod's counsel having died before
the case came on for argument, Dr. Murray, almost at a moment's notice,
was called upon to defend the Synod's action, and did so with remarkable
ability, eliciting appreciative compliments from the opposing counsel and the
presiding judges. The decision being adverse, the Synod appealed to the
Privy Council, and Dr. Murray was sent to London and instructed counsel
Obituary 275
for the Church (the late Sir Roundell Palmer) " in a manner which it would
have been difficult for an ordinary solicitor to do ".
Dr. Murray was largely instrumental in founding the Huguenot Seminary
(now College) at Wellington — an institution for the education of young
women ; and he also participated in the establishment of the Victoria
College at Stellenbosch (references to both will be found in Professor
Ritchie's article elsewhere in this number). In many other ways, too, he
aided in the development of education in South Africa. He was the moving
spirit in the inauguration of a new era of missionary effort. It was owing to
him that Central Africa was chosen as a special mission field, and that the
Soudan is also being cared for; and in this connection his influence was
exercised in the establishment of the Theological Seminary at Stellenbosch
and the Mission Institute at Wellington.
We regret extremely having to record the death of one of our most dis-
tinguished graduates — Sir William Davidson Niven, K.C.B., F.R.S. (M.A.,
1861 ; LL.D., 1884) — which took place at his residence, Eastburn, Sidcup,
on 29 May. Sir William, who had reached his seventy-fifth year, was the
second of a family of six distinguished scholars — sons of the late Mr. Charles
Niven, Peterhead. Of the brothers still alive, one, Professor Charles Niven,
F.R.S., is Professor of Natural Philosophy at Aberdeen University, while
another. Dr. James Niven, is Medical Officer of Health in Manchester. After
graduating with honours and winning the Simpson Mathematical prize, Sir
William Niven proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating B.A.
(Third Wrangler) in 1866 and M.A. in 1869, and being elected a Fellow of
the College. For some years he acted as an assistant tutor, and had a large
share in the training of the members of the school of Theoretical Physics.
Greatly esteemed and trusted by Clerk Maxwell, he was virtually his
literary executor, and prepared and edited his collected works. While en-
gaged in that capacity he was invited to accept the position of Director of
Studies in the Royal Naval College. To this post he devoted the best of his
life's work, holding it for over twenty years until his retirement in 1903, when
he was created K.C.B., having been made C.B. in 1897. As Director of
Naval Education, he won the high regard of the service and the attachment
of the chiefs of its scientific branches. It was generally recognized that it
was on account of his work that the officers of the Navy attained the high de-
gree of efficiency which they showed, and he received many marks of appre-
ciation from a number of distinguished officers. His own scientific work,
begun at Woolwich in the improvement of the theory of ballistics, continued
at Cambridge on the lines of the rising electrical theory, and, never inter-
mitted in the midst of arduous official duties, maintained him high in the
front rank of mathematical physicists.
Sir William Niven was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1882,
and was for several years a member of the Council and for two years Vice-
President. On his retirement from the Directorship of Naval Studies in
1903, he received numerous tokens of appreciation both from the service
and the staff. In 191 1 a group of scientific friends presented Sir William
with his portrait, painted by Mr. Lindsay Smith, which was handed to Aber-
deen University for preservation in its collection, as a permanent mark of
276 Aberdeen University Review
appreciation of his distinguished public services, and the warm regard of all
who had been associated with him. The subscribers included the names of
many of the most eminent scientific men in the country.
Rev. James Allan (M.A., Marischal College, 1848; D.D., 1902), senior
minister of the parish of Marnoch, Banffshire, died at his residence, Belmont
House, Aberdeen, on 30 May, in the eighty- seventh year of his age. He was
one of the oldest ordained ministers of the Church of Scotland, his service
dating back to 1856, and thus extending over sixty years (see Vol. IH,
p. 272). A native of Rothiemay, he was licensed to preach by the Presby-
tery of Fordyce in 1854, and for two years was engaged in teaching work,
being for a short time schoolmaster at Deskford. In 1855 he was appointed
Royal Bounty missionary at Grantown, and he was ordained in the following
year. He was inducted minister of Grange in 1858, was translated to Keith
in 1867, and was finally settled in Marnoch in 1880; he had been the
" father " of the Presbytery of Strathbogie for over a quarter of a century.
During his ministry at Keith he began and carried out the building of the
church of Newmill, and completed its endowment and erection into a parish
quoad sacra ; and he was largely instrumental in securing the erection (at a
cost of ;£"iooo) of a mission hall in Aberchirder for the convenience of
those who were too far from Marnoch Parish Church.
Dr. John Urquhart Black (M.B., 1888), died at St. James, Cape
Province, South Africa, on 1 2 April. He was the eldest son of the late Mr.
Morrice A. Black, F.I.A., actuary of the Australian Mutual Provident Society,
Sydney, and brother of Mr. Morrice A. Black (M.A., 1886), now a solicitor
in Sydney.
Mr. William Dewar (M.A., 1872), formerly senior modern languages
master at Rugby School, died at Horton House, Rugby, on 27 April, aged
seventy. He was for a time an assistant master at Cheltenham College, but
twenty-nine years ago went to Rugby as an assistant master, the head master
then being Dr. Percival, the present Bishop of Hereford. In time Mr. Dewar
became senior modern languages master, retiring from the post at Christmas,
191 1. Mr. Dewar had a long record of public work in Rugby. For twenty-
five years he was on the board of management of the local hospital, latterly as
chairman. He became a member of the Urban District Council in 1903, and
from 1909 to 191 2 was chairman, in which capacity he received the late
King Edward when in 1909 His Majesty visited the town and opened the
Temple Speech Room. He was also chairman of the Electric Light Com-
mittee. In 191 1, says a local paper, anticipating his retirement from school
duties, he offered himself for election as a County Councillor, and being suc-
cessful devoted himself whole-heartedly to the duties of that office. His
knowledge and experience rendered his membership of the Education Com-
mittee invaluable. Another position he held was that of chairman of the
County Health Insurance Committee, and for the last two years he had
taken special interest in the means adopted for treating cases of tuberculosis.
He was also chairman of the House Committee for the Isolation Hospital,
Harboro Magna ; chairman of the Managers of the Council Schools in
Rugby; and a member of the Rugby Higher Education Committee, as a
nominee of the County Council. In January, 191 4, Mr. Dewar was appointed
Obituary 277
a magistrate, and he frequently attended the Rugby Bench. He was a son
of the late Mr. William Dewar, veterinary surgeon, Midmar.
Mr. James Duguid (M.A., 1867), Lecturer on Conveyancing in the
University, died at his residence, 7 Bon- Accord Crescent, Aberdeen, on 15
March, aged sixty-seven. Adopting the law as a profession, he joined the
Society of Advocates in Aberdeen in 1874, and two years afterwards entered
into partnership with the late Mr. Gray Campbell Fraser, under the firm name of
Fraser and Duguid. Mr. Duguid early established and to the end maintained
the highest reputation as a conveyancer, and in 1892 was a candidate for the
Lectureship in Conveyancing in the University, when Mr. Charles Ruxton
was appointed. Three years later when Mr. Ruxton resigned, the lectureship
was conferred on Mr. Duguid. His fitness for the post was heartily endorsed
by leading lawyers in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and the success of the choice
was abundantly confirmed by the able way in which the duties were performed.
Mr. Duguid contrived to make a dry and dreary subject interesting and at-
tractive, and the clear, concise, and accurate way in which the principles of
conveyancing law were expounded secured the appreciation and recognition
of his students, and gave the lectureship a high place in the law curriculum of
the University. Mr. Duguid was a member of the Lord Advocate's Com-
mittee on Conveyancing Reform, and his services were largely in demand as
an arbiter on disputed questions of title and their interpretation. In 1886 he
was appointed an Honorary Sheriff-Substitute of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and
Banff, and he was also an examiner under the Law Agents Act. He was
appointed Chairman of the Court of Referees on unemployment insurance set
up for Aberdeen and district, and, more recently, Chairman of the Aberdeen
Munitions Tribunal. At the time of his death, he was President of the
Society of Advocates, having been continued in office each year since his
election for 19 14- 15. He was a member of the Aberdeen School Board from
1906 to 1909 and was an officer in the Aberdeen City Volunteer Artillery for
twenty-seven years, retiring in 1908 with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel and Hon.
Colonel. He received the Volunteer Decoration in 1901.
Rev. Alexander Dunn (M.A., 1882) died at his residence, 71 Newington
Road, Edinburgh, on 23 March, aged fifty-seven. He was for some time assist-
ant in West St. Giles, Edinburgh, and thereafter went to Ceylon, where he acted
for nineteen years as chaplain of the St. Andrew's Church, Colombo. He
exercised a great influence upon the Scottish community there, and was held
in much respect. For two years before the outbreak of war he was chaplain
of the Scotch Church, Brussels. He returned to this country after war broke
out, and the Colonial Committee of the Church of Scotland invited him to
retain his position nominally as the minister of Brussels, in the hope that he
would be able to resume his labours there after the war. Mr. Dunn was a
native of Leochel-Cushnie, Aberdeenshire.
Dr. George Hubert Ede (M.B., 1887 ; M.D., 1893) died at Bramley,
Guildford, Surrey, on 1 1 April, aged fifty-four.
Mr. Alexander Ellis (alumnus, Marischal College, 1844-46), died on
3 May, having reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Educated in
278 Aberdeen University Review
Robert Gordon's Hospital, he was one of the advanced students of that institu-
tion sent to Marischal College. He became an architect of considerable
repute, his most outstanding works being St. Mary's Episcopal Church in
Garden Place and the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Huntly Street. He
afterwards entered into partnership with Mr. R. G. Wilson (Ellis & Wilson),
but retired from business many years ago.
Mr. David Mitchell Gall (B.Sc, 1899 ; B.A. [Dubl.]), head master of
the Supplementary School, Dumbarton, died on 3 May at his residence at
Dumbarton, aged forty-five. He was a native of Carnoustie, and had been a
teacher at Oban prior to receiving his Dumbarton appointment in 191 1.
Mr. George Greig (M.A., 1901), solicitor, Kampala, Uganda, died at
the Namirembe Hospital on 27 December. He was a distinguished student
at the University, gaining many prizes ; and, after graduating and completing
his law studies, he was employed in law offices in Aberdeen, Perth, and
Edinburgh. He went out to Uganda in 1909, and formed a partnership with
Dr. Hunter at Kampala. During the progress of the campaign in German
East Africa, all his professional brethren in the immediate neighbourhood of
Kampala were engaged in one way or another in military work, and thus he
had (said the " Uganda Herald ") the burden of the entire law business of the
district on his shoulders. For some considerable time prior to his death Mr.
Greig had been in poor health, and the end, though sudden, was not un-
expected. In the High Court at Kampala, the Acting Justice paid a warm
tribute to Mr. Greig, whom he characterized as an earnest, capable advocate ;
and the " Uganda Herald " was requested, on behalf of the Baganda chiefs,
to express their sorrow on the occasion of the death of Mr. Greig. The
Baganda recognized, it was stated, that ''through this calamity they have
indeed lost a sincere friend and wise counsellor ". Mr. Greig was the eldest
son of Mr. John Greig, South Sandlaw, Alvah, Banffshire.
Dr. Frederick Hay (M.B., 1871 ; M.D., 1874) died at York on 27
December, aged sixty-eight. He had lived in strict retirement in York for
over forty years, being unable, on account of ill health, to practise his pro-
fession. He was the son of the late Dr. William Banks Hay, of Hull.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Alfred Swaine Lethbridge, K. C.S.I. (M.B.,
CM., 1865 ; M.D., 1867), died on 11 March at Windhover, Bursledon, Hants,
aged seventy-two. He belonged to a well-known Devonshire family, and
was born at Tirhoot, Calcutta, in 1844. After graduating at Aberdeen, he
joined the Indian Medical Service (Bengal) in 1867, and had a distinguished
career. He was Superintendent-General for the suppression of Thagi and
Dakaiti, 1892-97 ; and was a member of the Viceroy's Council, 1895-97.
He was created C.S.I, in 1890 and K.C.S.I. six years later. In 1898 he
retired from the service as a Brigade-Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel.
Dr. Dudley MacDonald Mackenzie (M.B., 1901 ; M.D.) died at
Marton Lodge, Pontefract, on 21 March, aged 37. He was a son of the
late Mr. John J. Mackenzie, M.A., of the Comptoir d'Escompte de Paris,
London, and grandson of the late Rev. Hugh Mackenzie, M.A., minister of
Obituary 279
the Gaelic Church, Aberdeen. He practised for several years at Southall,
Middlesex.
Mr. John Ferguson M'Lennan, K.C. (M.A., 1875; LL.B. [Edin.]
1879) died at his residence, 20 Heriot Row, Edinburgh, on 29 May, aged
sixty-one. He was a son of the late Mr. Malcolm M'Lennan, Procurator-
Fiscal of Caithness, and a nephew of the late Mr. J. F. M'Lennan, the author
of "Primitive Marriage," and one of the "fathers" of the modern school of
anthropology. He received his legal education at Edinburgh University,
being the first to secure the University Endowment Association's Law
Fellowship. He was called to the Scottish bar in 1881, and soon acquired
a large practice. He became a K.C. in 1905, and in that year was appointed
Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland. " To his professional brethren
and to many other friends," said a notice in the "Scotsman," "Mr. M'Lennan
was known not only as a persistent and skilful pleader, but also as a cheerful
and ever-welcome companion in hours of social relaxation. He delighted in
the society of congenial spirits, nor was he ever behindhand in contributing
his just share to the entertainment of the company. He sang a good song,
and wrote a good song, besides frequently composing a good tune to which
to sing it."
Mr. Edmund Burke Milne Mitchell (M.A., 1881), the author of
** The Call of the Bells," reviewed on another page, died suddenly in New York
on 30 March. Mr. Mitchell, who was fifty-six years of age, after gradu-
ating in 1 88 1, when he carried off" the Seafield Medal in English, became a
journalist and was so employed in India, Australia, and America. He ultimately
settled in California and took to writing novels. The " Glasgow Herald " of
1 2 May, in announcing his death, said — " It is many years since Mr. Mitchell,
then a young member of the editorial staff of ' The Glasgow Herald,' published
his first novel, and so began a long series of books of varying character. He
had come from Elgin — his father was rector of the Academy there — by way
of Aberdeen University, where he had been a brilliant student. From Glas-
gow he passed on to the old * Edinburgh Courant,' and thence proceeded to
London, where he studied finance, and became a writer upon that subject.
India, Australia, and California in turn furnished him with a dwelling-place ;
and at Los Angeles was his home. From there he travelled much in Europe
on newspaper business, and contributed to journals in this country as well as in
the land of his adoption. An American publisher who sends us the notice of
his death speaks of Mr. Mitchell as * an honest, straightforward, sincere man,
of great ability, and a brilliant writer '. It is a tribute in which his few re-
maining colleagues of the Glasgow days unhesitatingly join."
The Caledonian Club of Los Angeles, California, adopted the following
In Memoriam tribute, which was drafted by Mr. James Main Dixon, L.H.D.,
Oriental Studies and Comparative Literature, U.S.C, Los Angeles : —
In the sudden and lamented death of Edmund Mitchell, the Caledonian Club of Los
Angeles mourns the loss of a President of whom it had every reason to be proud. No one
was more at home as a presiding officer. Genial, witty, ready with retort, loving his fellow-
men, especially those who spoke the same Doric as himself, he infused enthusiasm into our
gatherings and our whole society, raising us to a higher level of brotherly goodwill. Born
fifty-six years ago on the banks of the Clyde, in the busy metropolis of Western Scotland,
he spent his boyhood in the ancient, historic town of Elgin, and then went up to Aberdeen
28o Aberdeen University Review
University. Here he had a brilliant career as a student, winning the gold medal in English
literature ; and throughout his life he remained a loyal ton of that famous home of learning.
A few weeks before his death he received, to his great delight, from its Principal, Sir George
Adam Smith, a letter highly commending his latest novel, *' The Call of the Bells ". His
career as a journalist began in Glasgow, and was continued in several continents before he
finally came to Los Angeles ; and the wonderfully varied experiences of life and manners
thus gained have been wo\'en into the tales which have secured for him an international
reputation. With this cosmopolitan training and culture, Edmund Mitchell remained a
single-minded, leal-hearted Scot, staunch to his friends and in sympathy with every good
cause. In his family circle he followed the ideals to which Scotsmen have clung so tenaci-
ously, and it was a pleasure to be under his hospitable roof, for he shone as a kindly host
among his boys. The Caledonian Club herewith extends its deepest sympathy to his widow
and children in their irreparable loss, and instructs its Secretary to transmit an engrossed
copy of this resolution to Mrs. Mitchell.
Dr. S. ToLVER Preston, whose death took place in March at the hospital
at Altona, near which town he had lived for many years, was educated at the
University of Aberdeen, and while serving his articles with a London firm of
engineers was employed on one of the Atlantic cable ships. He soon after
retired from the profession, and in 1875 published his " Theory of the Ether,"
in which he attributed the gravitational attraction between two bodies to the
oscillations of their molecules, which interact with the ether and set it in oscil-
lation in turn. From about this period he appears to have lived abroad,
chiefly in Germany, and in 1894 he took his doctor's degree at Munich with
a dissertation on the theories of gravitation. During this period he wrote
several papers dealing with the kinetic theory of gases. He was the first to
point out the possibility of obtaining work from a porous piston, separating
hydrogen and oxygen at the same pressure from each other in a cylinder by
the more rapid diffusion of the hydrogen through the piston. Later papers
dealt with cosmical physics. In one he pointed out that a rotating plastic
solid would take a planetary form, and that it is not necessary to assume that
planets had at any time been liquid or gaseous. — " Nature," 3 May.
Rev. George Milne Rae (M.A., 1863 ; D.D., 1893) died at his residence,
9 Drummond Place, Edinburgh, on 24 March, aged seventy-six. In 1867 he
was ordained a missionary of the Free Church to Madras, and also became a
Professor in the Madras Christian College; and in 1886 he was appointed
Secretary to the Madras Mission. Returning to this country in 1891, he was
appointed, in the following year. Secretary to the Jewish, Colonial, and Con-
tinental Committees of the Free (afterwards United Free) Church. He was
a native of Udny, Aberdeenshire.
Rev. John Reid (M.A., Marischal College, 1853), minister of the parish
of Crail, Fifeshire, died on 8 February, aged eighty-three. He was a native of
Drumoak, and was educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School, graduating in
Arts at Marischal College and studying divinity at King's College. After act-
ing as assistant at Largs and Cortachy, he became assistant to Rev. William
Merson, Crail, and three years later was inducted as minister of the parish.
A colleague and successor to Mr. Reid was appointed in November last.
Mr. James Simpson (alumnus, 1867) died at his residence, Gladstone
Place, Dyce, on 4 March, aged sixty-eight. In 1870 he passed for the Inland
Revenue Department, from which he retired in 1909. Owing, however, to
Obituary 281
the pressure of work caused by the war, he was asked to re-enter the service,
and this he did, working hard until the continuous strain undermined his
health. In the course of his career he acted for the Excise at Inverboyndie,
near Banff, and while there he compiled (1908) a Summary and Commentary
on the Old- Age Pension Act. He was the third son of Mr. George Simpson,
South Burreldales, Alvah, Banffshire.
Rev. George Wisely (M.A., Marischal College, 1846 ; D.D., 1894) died
at Orpington, Kent, on 24 May, aged ninety-one. Licensed by the Free
Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1850, he was assistant for two years at Free
St. John's, Leith, and afterwards at Free St. Matthew's, Glasgow, and for a
short time had charge of the mission station in the Wynds, Glasgow. After
acting as locum tenens for Rev. Dr. Stewart at Leghorn, he was, in 1854,
ordained by the Presbytery of Italy minister of the Scottish Free Church at
Malta, and he was also appointed officiating Presbyterian Chaplain to the
Forces. Then began a long career of ministerial and public labours in Malta
and in connection with the Scottish regiments of the Army, which earned
Dr. Wisely the regard of the Maltese community and wide recognition else-
where. During the Crimean War the devotion of Dr. and Mrs. Wisely to the
wounded soldiers received the warm acknowledgment of the military author-
ities. In June, 1855, they started a Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, the first
outside the United Kingdom, and this institution has ever since continued to
be of the greatest advantage and benefit to British soldiers and sailors. Quite
recently it was through Dr. Wisely 's instrumentality that the British and
Foreign Sailors' Society was enabled to erect the King Edward VII Merchant
Sailors' Rest in Malta, which during the war has proved of great service to
the crews of Mediterranean merchant vessels.
Dr. Wisely (said a biographical notice) filled a place of no ordinary importance in the
ministerial life of Malta. No good cause for the physical, moral, or intellectual welfare of
the inhabitants, British or Maltese, rich or poor, tailed to secure the warm sympathy and
support of Dr. Wisely and his wife, and their generous charities were extended to all the
poor and needy without distinction of nationality or creed. Dr. Wisely's work in Malta
was well known to all visitors to the island, and year after year earned the appreciation
and esteem of all the churches in Scotland. He displayed indeed quite a remarkable
individuality, and it would hardly be possible to overestimate the value of his work and the
great influence he has exercised as no inconsiderable builder of Empire in demonstrating
by his own personal service the advantages and benefits of British rule. All British regi-
ments experienced his unfailing kindness, and while he maintained the best relations with
all ranks, he was first and foremost the friend of the common soldier. Although a minister,
he may also be described as essentially a public man in the best sense, manifesting in all
his dealings great capacity and outlook and high administrative ability. Ever ready to offer
the hospitality of his home at Valetta, and at Boschetto, his picturesque residence in the
country, travellers of many nationalities will recall with gratitude the welcome they re-
ceived and the kindness shown them by Dr. Wisely and his wife.
Mr. John Young falumnus, 1868-72) died at Brighton on 20 April.
He was a son of the late Mr. Robert Young, Portsoy, and was engaged in
teaching in various schools in England and Scotland from 1872 to 1884. In
the latter year he was appointed head master of the Protestant European
High School, Cuttack, Incfia, a post which he held for twenty-eight years,
retiring in 191 2.
282 Aberdeen University Review
WAR OBITUARY.
Joseph Ellis Milne, D.S.O. (M.A., 1888; M.B., 1891 ; M.D., 1894),
Captain, R.A.M.C., was — as briefly mentioned in our last issue — killed in
action in France on 22 February. He took both his medical degrees with
the highest honours, and had acquired an extensive connection, becoming
one of the busiest medical practitioners in Aberdeen and having one of the
largest panel practices. He gave up his practice, however, in April, 191 5,
and went abroad with seven or eight other Aberdeen doctors, being attached
to the RA.M.C. as one of the medical officers of the Highland Casualty
Clearing Station. Later he was attached to the King's Liverpool Regiment
(better known as the Liverpool Irish), with which he had been in France for
over a year, taking part in most of the fighting on the Somme. He received
the D.S.O. in October last for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in
operations, and was subsequently mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig's dispatches.
Dr. Milne was a native of Fraserburgh, the youngest son of Captain James
Milne, a well-known shipmaster, now in his eighty-seventh year, who resided
with him at 8 Albyn Place, Aberdeen. He took a great interest in athletics
of all kinds, particularly cricket and football, and he was medical officer to
the Aberdeen Football Club. He was forty-eight years of age.
An old and close personal friend of Captain J. Ellis Milne, in the course
of a tribute to his memory communicated to the Aberdeen newspapers, said : —
Within a few weeks [of being appointed medical officer of the King's Liverpool
Regiment] Ellis Milne was a man marked out by his striking personal qualities. He
knew no fear, or, if he knew it, nothing could daunt him or deflect him a hairbreadth from
his conception of his duty. He asked that no man who was wounded in the trenches should
be removed before he had seen him and dressed his wounds on the spot where he had fallen.
When his Colonel warned him that this method of working entailed greater danger for him-
self, he replied that he accepted the risk. The wounded soldier claimed all his skill, and as
haemorrhage might be inaeased by movement with imperfect dressing, that was enough for
him. No matter how often he might have to drag his way round the everlasting bends of
a communication trench, and no matter how trench mortars might be falling, the call of
duty to him was plain — the fullest of personal service on behalf of the men who had them-
selves given so much.
In due course Ellis Milne passed into the cauldron of the Somme. The time is not
yet for revealing all his experiences on that historic field. Ellis Milne established his aid
post in the front line trenches, and went over the parapet to bring in the wounded. He
chose the position himself to be near to the men who fell in no man's land — the old
determination to be on the spot and to render the best service, utterly regardless of personal
safety.
The following letter to Captain Milne's brother (Mr. James Milne,
solicitor, Fraserburgh) from a brother-officer is one of many similar letters
received from the officers and men with whom he served, all testifying to his
heroic and unselfish services in the field, and the inspiring example he was to
the men of devotion to duty regardless of his own personal safety in the face
of danger and death : —
I wish to express my deep sympathy with you in the loss you have sustained by the
death of your brother, Dr. J. Ellis Milne, D.S.O. I knew him intimately, as I was with
the battalion when he joined us until I was wounded in August last. I had the greatest
admiration for his splendid character. He was absolutely devoid of fear, and neither
fatigue nor danger could prevent him from doing his utmost to fulfil his exacting duties.
Obituary 2 8 j
As a sample of his splendid work, I remember one night when we were heavily shelled in.
billets, and instead of waiting in safety at his dressing station for the wounded to be brought
to him, he went out to the house that had been struck, and amidst the ruins amputated the
leg of a man, under heavy shell fire all the while. No doubt you have heard of his exploits
in August, when he took a stretcher party out a considerable distance in front of our lines,
and brought back many wounded who had lain there since the attack of the previous day.
My last recollection of him was as I made my way back wounded. As usual he had gone
out from his dressing station, leaving another M.O. in charge and was standing in a most
exposed place, rendering aid to a number of desperately wounded men. He saw me and
called out if I was all right, and on my answering "Yes," immediately bent down to hi».
work again. I am quite certain that no doctor did finer work at the war than your brother,
or was more admired and esteemed by the officers and men under his charge, and the new*
of his death was a heavy blow to all of us. — I am, sir, yours very sincerely,
G. H. Chamberlin, Capt.
West Lanes. Reserve Brigade,
Musketry Camp.
Hector Robert Macdonald (second year Arts student, 191 3-14).
Lieutenant, Seaforth Highlanders, was — as briefly mentioned in our last issue-
— killed in action on 23 February. He received his early education at the
Aberdeen Grammar School, and on the outbreak of war was preparing to go
up to Cambridge. In June, 19 13, he was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the
Army Service Corps (T.F.), and was mobilized with the rest of the Highland
Division in August, 19 14. He was promoted Lieutenant in September, 191 4,
but afterwards resigned his commission on passing into the Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, in February, 19 15. In the August following he was
gazetted to the Seaforths, and had been on service for some time. He left
for Mesopotamia in September last. Lieutenant Macdonald took a great
interest in sport, particularly in boxing. He was the only surviving son of
the late Mr. Ewen Macdonald, of Johnstone, Aberdeenshire, and of Mrs.
Macdonald, Copsewood, King's Gate, Aberdeen ; and a grandson of the late
Mr. Ewen Macdonald, merchant, Aberdeen. He was twenty-two years of
age.
Mrs. Macdonald has received the following letter from Lieutenant-
Colonel Anstruther, commanding the Seaforth Highlanders: —
Soon after he joined he was appointed bombing officer to the battalion. He trained
our bombers most thoroughly and efficiently and organized everything down to the minutest
detail.
When we got our orders to attack Sanna-i-yat he arranged for all the various parties-
and their different tasks when we reached the Turkish trenches. While blocking the main
Turkish trench on our right flank, the majority of the party he was with were killed or
wounded. He himself took the place of the bayonet men, who protect the blockers (who
make the block with sandbags). It was while doing this that he was mortally wounded.
He died shortly after. He was deeply regretted by all of us. He was a charming com-
panion, and a most gallant and efficient officer. He contributed very materially to the
great success of that day, as the result of which our troops have taken Kut el Amara and a
considerable distance up the river beyond. We are still advancing, and facilities for writing
are not many. He is buried in the rear of our lines at Sanna-i-yat, in a cemetery, and his
grave is marked and registered.
William Bruce Anderson, M.C. (M.A., 1911), Second Lieutenant,
Gordon Highlanders, was killed in action in the **push" from Arras in April
Previous to the outbreak of the war he was a science student in Toronto. He
joined a Territorial battalion of the Gordons as a Private and received his
commission in September, 191 5. He was awarded the Military Cross ii>
January of this year for having " assumed command and led his company
284 Aberdeen University Review
with great courage and determination, capturing one hundred and seventy
prisoners ".
William R. Anderson (Agricultural student, with Diploma in Agr.,
1912), Second Lieutenant, Lovat Scouts, and attached to an Entrenching
Battalion, was killed by hostile aircraft in France on 4 June. He was the
second son of Mr. William Anderson, farmer, Saphock, Oldmeldrum, and was
twenty-four years of age.
Ian Forbes Clark Badenoch (Arts Bursar, 191 5), Second Lieutenant,
Royal Fusiliers, died of wounds on 18 March. After finishing at Banff
Academy, he gained an Arts bursary at the University, but he never entered
on its enjoyment. When he reached the age of eighteen, he joined the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as a Private, and only a short time before
his death he was commissioned to the Royal Fusiliers. He was the eldest
son of Mr. John A. Badenoch, accountant, Banff, and was only nineteen
years old.
Edgar Hunter Ewen (M.A., 1904), Lieutenant 5th Royal Scots Fusiliers,
was accidentally killed on i May at Catterick, Yorkshire, where there is a large
training camp. Previously a Sergeant in the Gordon Highlanders, he received
a commission in the Royal Scots. He was a teacher at Tangland, Methlick.
He was the seventh son of the late Mr. George Ewen, Tangland, and a
brother of Rev. John S. Ewen, minister of Gamrie, Banffshire.
WiLLiEjOHN Oberlin Gilmore (M.A., 191 1), Second Lieutenant, Scot-
tish Horse, attached to the South Notts Yeomanry, was reported in May to
be wounded and missing, and subsequently was reported killed in action. He
was teaching in Leith Academy when the war broke out, and at once enlisted
as a private in the Scottish Horse. He was subsequently promoted to be Ser-
geant, and about a year ago he went to Gallipoli, where he was promoted to
a commission for meritorious service in the field. He had been at the western
firont for some time. He was a son of Mr. Gilmore, head teacher, Crathes,
and was thirty-two years of age.
Rev. John Spence Grant, M.C. (M.A., 191 1 ; B.D., 1915), Lieutenant,
Gordon Highlanders, was killed in action in France in April. He joined
the army over two years ago, and had been on active service since then, and
had taken part in a great deal of fighting. " He was a trusted and beloved
leader ; ever showing a fearless example to his men." He was awarded the
Military Cross last autumn (see p. 69). Prior to entering the army he was
Assistant minister at Broughty- Ferry. He was a son of Mr. Grant, farmer,
Braehead, Lgslie, Insch, Aberdeenshire, and was twenty-seven years of age.
Alexander James Gunn (Medical student). Sergeant, 4th Gordon
Highlanders, was reported as wounded and missing at the battle of the Somme
on 23 July, 1 91 6, and is now regarded by the authorities as having been killed
in action on that date. He was the third son of Mr. Alexander Gunn, J. P.,
Achalone, Halkirk, Caithness, and was a student of distinction and promise —
excelling in athletics as well, being in particular an enthusiastic shinty-player.
From an "Appreciation" contributed to the "John O'Groat Journal" on
Obituary 285
27 April by "A Fellow-Student and Soldier" we cull the following: Gunn,
when at the University transferred from the Seaforth Highlanders, the Terri-
torial battalion of which he joined when a boy at school, to U Company of
the 4th Gordons, who, when the war broke out, were in camp at Tain. Two
days before general mobilization, volunteers were called for to go back post-
haste to Aberdeen to guard the Torry Fort; and Gunn was one of the
volunteers. He crossed over to Flanders with the battalion at the end of
January, 1915.
In one of the tremendous struggles around Ypres, a part of the battalion got cut off
from the rest and from battalion headquarters, and remained isolated. Wires were broken,
it rained a hell of shrapnel and high explosives all day, the enemy's machine-guns never
ceased, and it was dreaded that the isolated section was annihilated. Communication had
to be established ; and Lance-Corporal Gunn volunteered to effect it. Through a perfect
tornado of shell fire, flying debris, deadly shrapnel, and death-dealing confusion, the young
Caithness student cut his way and reported to his Colonel the condition and position
of the missing Company. Twice again during the same day he performed the same
dangerous journey ; and came out of it scatheless. For this gallant exploit he was con-
gratulated by the Divisional General and recommended for the D.C.M.
Corporal Gunn was severely wounded on the occasion of the Loos offen-
sive on 25 September — "a fateful day for the Alma Mater at Aberdeen, for
many of her noblest sons then made the supreme sacrifice ". He returned to
"Blighty " and recovered within five months, and he rejoined his regiment in
France in June, 191 6, just in time for the next big ofi"ensive on the Somme.
Immediately on rejoining he was made a Sergeant, and in that capacity did
some magnificent work.
The night before his last action he went out and rescued four wounded men of ait
English regiment who had lain in " No Man's Land " for three days. For this and for
other consistent good work he was on the eve of again being put forward for military de-
coration for conspicuous bravery in the field. In the night attack on High Wood his
coolness in the inferno of shrapnel and machine-gun fire was almost superhuman. He
was the first up to the German trenches, but over his subsequent actions a cloud of mystery
hangs, for the enemy successfully counter-attacked, and High Wood remained in his hands-
for six weeks longer. His non-return caused deep regret in all ranks of the battalion.
Edwin Alfred Kennedy (ist Arts, 191 4- 15), Second Lieutenant, 6tb
Seaforth Highlanders, was killed in action in France on 1 5 May. He joined
the Gordons as a private in March, 191 5, and received his commission shortly
after. Proceeding to France in July, 1916, he had gone through many of the
great actions of the campaign. Twenty-one years of age, he was the youngest
son of Mr. Robert Kennedy, superintendent of Deveron Fishings, Banff,
and a brother of Captain John Alexander Kennedy (M.A., 1902 ; B.Sc,
1905), killed, 6 August, 191 6 (see p. 92).
William David Macbeth (M.A., 1909), Second Lieutenant, Black Watch^
was killed in action in France on 23 April. He was a member of the teach-
ing staff of the High School, Dundee.
James Alexander Masson (M.A., 191 3), Lieutenant, R.G.A., died in
May of wounds received in action. Before joining the army he was an assis-
tant master at Thurso Academy. He was the only son of Mr. James Masson,
skipper of the drifter O.E.F., of Fraserburgh, and was twenty- five years of age>
Rev. William Grant, at present locum minister of the South U.F.
Church, Fraserburgh, writes us : —
286 Aberdeen University Review
I knew Masson at King's, but not until I came to Fraserburgh was I fully aware of
the grandeur of his character. His death is particularly sad, for he was an only child, and
his parents had given of their small substance to educate him, and all their hopes were
centred on him. He was only a few weeks in France when he was so severely wounded
that he died. The father, Mr. James Masson, is a remarkable man. He is an elder in the
South Church, and is well known for his unobtrusive piety. He has been away mine-
sweeping in the Adriatic, but was recently sent home on account of heart trouble. He has
a decoration for his services, in the form of a Serbian medal which he wears.
John McCulloch (M.A., 1909), Captain, Gordon Highlanders, was
killed in action in France on 9 April. After graduating he adopted the
teaching profession, and taught in Dunfermline and Ayr Academy, being
classical master in Dollar Academy when the war began. He then enlisted
in the Gordons, receiving a commission shortly afterwards and being pro-
moted Captain some time ago. He was the second son of Mr. John
McCulloch, formerly a draper in Portsoy, and now in Glasgow, and was
about thirty years of age.
Marshall Merson (M.A., 191 2), Lieutenant, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was
killed in action in France on 3 May. Prior to the war, he was studying for
the ministry and had just become a probationer of the Church of Scotland.
Immediately after receiving license to preach, he enlisted in the 4th Gordon
Highlanders, served in the ranks for some time, and then received a commis-
sion in the sth Royal Scots. Owing to the state of his health, he was for a
considerable time retained for garrison work at home, and he was passed for
the front only in the beginning of the present year. He was a son of Mr.
George Merson, fishcurer, Buckie.
William S. Pirie, D.C.M. (Arts student, 1905-7), Captain, Royal Scots
Fusiliers, was killed in action in France in April. Before mobilization as
a Territorial he was a teacher at Muirkirk, Ayrshire. He went with his
battalion to Gallipoli, and while holding the rank of Sergeant-Major won the
triple honour of being awarded the D.C.M., mentioned in Sir Ian Hamilton's
dispatches, and promoted Lieutenant on the field. He was a son of Mrs.
Pirie, Cummingston, Burghead, and was twenty-nine years of age. He was
trained for his profession at the U.F. Church Training College, Aberdeen.
Leopold Profeit (M.A., 1896), Captain, The King's (Shropshire) Light
Infantry, was killed in action on 25 April. He was the youngest surviving
son of the late Dr. Alexander Profeit, Commissioner to Queen Victoria at
Balmoral, and having been born on Prince Leopold's birthday, 7 April, 1877,
was called after him at the request of Her Majesty. Captain Profeit went on
the stage as a profession, and played with Sir Johnston Forbes- Robertson and
the late James Welch. For some years he had been in America, and he was
home on holiday when the war broke out. He joined the University and
Public Schools Brigade, and gained his commission in December, 1914, and
his captaincy in August, 19 15.
James Rae (M.A., 1904; M.B., 1909; M.D., 1911), Lieutenant,
R.A.M.C., officially reported missing, is believed to have been drowned at
sea on 15 April. He had been engaged mostly in hospital work in various
parts of the country, and got a commission in the R.A.M.C. in 1915, which
Obituary 287
he relinquished about a year ago. He received a fresh commission this year,
and left for Egypt on 28 March. A letter, written at sea, was received from
him in the beginning of April, stating that all was well, but no further letter
came. Lieutenant Rae was of a literary turn, and was editor of "Alma
Mater " for a time. His thesis for the M.D. degree was " The History of
the Deaths of the Kings of England, from William I to IV," which was
afterwards published in book form. He was the author of many contribu-
tions to medical papers, both at home and abroad. He was the second son
of Mr. William Rae, advocate (M.A., 1873), a"^ was thirty-two years of age.
George Reid (Medical Student), Second Lieutenant, Gordon High-
landers, was killed in action in France in April. A member of the University
Territorial Company, he had been with the colours since the beginning of
the war, and was wounded at Hill 60 and again at the battle of Loos. He
received his commission only a few months ago. He was the second son of
Mr. George Reid, wood merchant, Banff, and was twenty-five years of age.
William George Reid (M.A., 191 1 ; B.A., Oxon.), Second Lieutenant,
Scottish Rifles, was killed in action in France on 23 February. He gradu-
ated with first class honours, and was for a time junior assistant to the
Professor of Humanity. He then went to Oxford, and, after a distinguished
career there, came back to Aberdeen to be second assistant, and this position
he filled till March of last year, when he joined the Officers Training Corps
and was afterwards gazetted to the 2nd Scottish Rifles. His commanding
officer in a letter to his father (Mr. William Reid, 58 Watson Street, Aber-
deen), said: "He was a most energetic and capable officer, and very
popular with his brother-officers. He was out on a working party bringing
stores, etc., to the front line, when a few shrapnel shells came across, one of
which got him, and he lived only for some hours. A sergeant was killed at
the same time, and there were a few other casualties." Lieutenant Reid was
twenty-six years of age.
John Dean Riddel (2nd year's Arts and Medical student, 19 15- 16),
Second Lieutenant, Gordon Highlanders, died of wounds received in action
on 17 April. He was a cadet in the University Contingent O.T.C., and
enlisted in the 5th Gordon Highlanders, speedily obtaining the rank of
Corporal, and acting also as Musketry Inspector. He had intended to be-
come a medical missionary, and was described as a young man of exemplary
character in every way. The following is a touching extract from his diary : —
Tell my parents not to weep for me, nor sob with drooping head,
When the troops come marching home again, with gallant stately tread,
But to look upon them proudly, with a calm and steadfast eye,
For their son, too, was a soldier, and not afraid to die.
Lieutenant Riddel was twenty-four years old. His parents live at Myngfield,
Kininmonth, Old Deer.
Simon Fraser Ross (M.A., 191 1), Lieutenant, 4th Gordon Highlanders,
was killed in action in France on 23 April. Graduating with second-class
honours in Classics, he studied for the ministry, and at the outbreak of the
war he was in charge of a mission in Canada. The eagerness to enlist took
hold of him, and he was one of fourteen students who enlisted in November.
288 Aberdeen University Review
He rejoined his old battalion, the Gordon Territorials, and during his period
of training in the summer of 191 5 he was licensed for the ministry by the
U.F. Presbytery of Elgin. A few months afterwards, he went to the front.
He soon rose to be Sergeant, and later on received a commission. He was
the third son of Mr. Simon Ross, Mains of Coltfield, Alves, Elginshire.
Robert Fergusson Russell (M.B., 1905), Captain, R.A.M.C, died on
service in France on 22 April. He was the second son of Rev. James A.
Russell, Causewayend United Free Church, Aberdeen. After graduating, he
practised for some time in Shetland and then at Methlick, and subsequently
went out to Jamaica, where he held a Government post. About two years
ago he returned to Europe to take his part in the war. He had been at-
tached to the 23rd General Hospital. He has left a widow and family, who
reside at 6 1 Hamilton Place.
John Moir Sim (Arts student), Second Lieutenant, Royal Flying Corps,
was killed in action in the air on 26 March. He was a member of "U"
Company, 4th Gordon Highlanders, and went to the front with the battalion in
February, 191 6, and was wounded at the battle of Loos. On his recovery, he
received a commission in the Gordons, and was again wounded and "gassed "
in July. In October he was transferred to the R.F.C., and passed his final
examination as a qualified observer only six weeks before he met his death.
He was a son of Mr. Sim, Clochan, Port Gordon.
Robert Mackie Simpson (Arts student). Private, Gordon Highlanders,
was killed by the bursting of a shell on i April. He joined the colours in
1 91 5 on the close of his first session at the University. He was the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, Wealthiton, Keig.
William Alexander Smith, Captain, R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1904), died in
June from wounds received in action. A son of Mr. William Smith, Gowan-
lea, Hatton of Cruden, he was a medical practitioner at Wesham, Lancashire.
John Ogilvie Taylor (M.A., 1910), Captain, The Buffs, was killed in
action on 3 May. At the outbreak of the war he was engaged as English
master in Basingstoke Grammar School. He joined the Inns of Court Officers
Training Corps, and received his commission in the Buffs, from which he
was subsequently transferred to the Middlesex regiment, leaving for France in
October of last year. He was thirty -two years of age, and was the nephew
of Mrs. Fyfe, 55 Cranford Road, Aberdeen.
Henry Wilkieson Thomson (M.A., 1907, with second-class honours in
Classics), Lance-Corporal, Canadian Contingent, was killed in action on
5 May. Previous to emigrating to Canada a few years ago he was on the
teaching staff of Dufftown and Huntly schools. He enlisted in the Canadian
Contingent, was made a Lance- Corporal, and about a year ago reached the
front, where he was wounded last October. He was the youngest son of Mr.
John Thomson (M.A., King's College, 1855), formerly head master of Turriff
Public School (retired), and a grandson of the late Provost John Hutcheon,
Turriff, and was about thirty-one years of age. An appreciative notice of him,
over the initials '* J.M.R.,'' appeared in the " Aberdeen Free Press " of 7 June.
Index to Volume IV.
A., W. B. : Killed in Action, in Latin, 236.
Aberdeen Burgh Birth Brieves, 150.
Abernethy, Pte. William : death of, 185.
Adam, Capt. Robert : dispatches, 70, 261.
Adam, Rev. William : note on, 74.
Adams, Pte. James Hume : death of, 187.
Ainslie, Capt. Wm. : M.C., 170.
Allan, Rev. Dr. James: note on, 74; death
of, 276.
Alexander, Rev. Alexander, D.D. : note on,
264.
Alexander, Capt. T. H. W. : note on, 70.
Anderson, Capt. Arch. S. K. ; M.C. 69 ; bar,
261.
Anderson, George : death of, 183.
Anderson, Robert: Obituary, 8^, 182, 274;
Personalia, 73, 176, 264 ; University
Topics, 65, 168, 254 ; reviews Sir G. A.
Smith's The War, the Nation, and the
Church, 63 ; Taylor and Diack's Student
and Sniper-Sergeant, 249.
Anderson, 2nd Lt. William B. : M.C, 171 ;
D.S.O., 261 ; death of, 283.
Anderson, 2nd Lt. William R. : death of,
284.
Argo, Capt. Gavin E. : note on, 173.
Assessors, Election of, 60.
Aymer, Capt. Alex. : note on, 173.
Badenoch, 2nd Lt. Ian F. C, : death of,
284.
Baillie, Professor : note on, 264.
Bain, Pte. Malcolm R. : death of, 90.
Barclay, John B. : death of, 183.
Begg, Capt. Henry : death of, 187.
Belgrade University, Bombardment of, 148.
Belin, Chevalier Ami : note on, 72.
Bell, James Clark : M.D., 273.
Benton, A. H. : Indian Moral Instruction,
167, 247.
Best, Miss Maud Storr : reviews Black's
List of Works Relating to Scotland, 59 ;
Oxford University Press Catalogue,
164.
Birss, Sgt. Norman : death of, 188.
Birth Brieves of Burgh of Aberdeen. By
Margaret R. Mackenzie, 150.
Bishop Mitchell. By Canon W. Perry, 135.
Bisset, 2nd Lt. Edgar G. W. : death of,
188.
Bisset, Sir William Sinclair Smith: death
of, 87.
Black, John V. : death of, 276.
Bombardment of Belgrade University, By
Alex. A. Cormack, 148.
Booth, Capt. John Lyon : M.C, 170.
Bower, Lt.-Col. George H. : services, 261.
Bowie, Cpl. John : death of, 90.
Bowie, W. Chalmers : note on, 81.
Boyd, Thomas C : note on, 262.
Brand, Adam ; Examiner, 169.
Brand, Capt. Hamish D. F. : note on, 173.
Brander, Major Eric W. H. : dispatches,
172.
Brebner, Rev. Dr. James: note on, 74, 176.
Brebner, Rev. William : note on, 74.
Brooke, Capt. Harry B. : death of, 91 ; dis-
patches, 172 ; note on, 272.
Brown, Capt. Gray : note on, 70.
Brown, Right Rev. Dr. John : Murtle
Lecturer, 67.
Brown, John A. Harvie : death of, 87.
Browne, Rev. William : note on, 264.
Bruce, Lt.-Col. Robert: dispatches, 70, 171 ;
D.S.O., 170.
Bruce, Major Robert: services, 261.
Bruce, Rev. W. S. : Professor Nicol — an ap-
preciation, I.
Brunton, Sir Thomas Lauder : death of, 87.
Bulloch, J. M. : Our New Chancellor, 193.
Bunting, Rev. Thomas J. : note on, 75.
Burnett, Rev. James B. : note on, 74, 262,
271.
Bursary Competition of 1916, 82.
Butchart, Major James A. : dispatches, 172.
Byres, George : M.D., 82.
Calcutta, Magazine of Scottish Churches :
note on, 145.
Calder, Rev. Walter J. R. : note on, 176.
Cambridge Magazine : note on, 145.
Cameron, Helen : second bursar, 82.
Cameron, Rev. Samuel W. : note on 75,
262.
Campbell, H. F. : reviews MacBain's Celtic
Mythology, 248.
Campbell, Capt. William: M.C, 69.
Chancellor, Election of, 254.
Chancellor, Our New, 195.
Chapman, J. B. : note on, 170.
Cheyne, Capt. Douglas G. : note on, 173.
Cheyne, Lt.-Col. Walter S. : note on, 262.
Clarke, Capt. Austin B. : M.C, 170.
Clarke, Margaret Skelton : note on, 80.
Clerihew, Miss : Our Indian Territorials, 51.
Collie, Pte. James K. : death of, 188.
289
19
290 Aberdeen University Review
Collie, Lt.-Col. Sir John : note on, 172.
Columbia University Quarterly : reviewed,
141.
Commerce, Degree in, 259.
Company Q.S. Charles McGregor. By
George Smith, LL.D., 6.
Conner, 2nd Lieut. William A. : death of,
91.
Cooper, Right Rev. James : Moderator, 176,
265.
Cormack, Alex. A. : Bombardment of Belgrade
University, 148.
Correspondence : —
The Aberdeen University Magazine, 246.
The War and Subscriptions for the "Re-
view ". By H. E. B. Speight, 156.
Coutts, Rev. James : note on, 265.
Cowan, Professor H. : note on, 74, 264.
Cowan, Lieut. Henry H. : dispatches, 172.
Cowie, John, R.N.D. : death of, 188.
Craig, Jane D. : note on, 80.
Craig, John : note on, 75.
Craigen, Major William G. : services, 261.
Craik, Sir Henry : Our Schools and the Work
that lies before them, 204.
Cran, Major the Hon. James: note on, 71.
Crichton, Rev. Norman : death of, 188.
Crowe, William C. : death of, 183.
Cruickshank, Rev. William W. : note on,
173.
Cumine, John Paton : note on, 75.
Cumming, Ella : note on, 181.
Cumming, Capt. R. S. : M.C., 261.
Currie, Geo. Burnett, presents rare coin, 168.
Cushny, Professor A. R. : note on, 81, 265.
Danson, Rev. E. R. L. : note on, 265.
Davidson, Professor A. B. By Principal
Sir George Adam Smith, 237.
Davidson, Lt.-Col. Hugh A.: D.S.O., 170;
dispatches, 171.
Davidson, Sir James Mackenzie: note on,
177.
Davidson, Capt. Norman : note on, 70.
Davidson, Professor W. L. : note on, 74.
Dawson, Cpl. George, death of, 91.
Dawson, Lt.-Col. James: dispatches, 171;
Order of Danilo, 172.
Dawson, William : examiner, 169.
Dean, Rev. John T. : note on, 75.
Deans of Faculties, 264.
Death of the Chancellor, 97.
Dewar, William : death of, 276.
Dey, William, LL.D. : Appreciation by
Charles Stewart, 31.
Diack, Alexander H. : K.C.LE., 75.
Divinity, Joint Classes in, 66.
Duguid, James : death of, 277.
Dunn, Rev. Alexander : death of, 277.
Durham University, College of Medicine
Gazette : note on, 145.
Easton, Robert : death of, 1S4.
Ede, George H. : death of, 277.
Education, Post-graduate degree in, 259.
Elgin, Earl of. Chancellor : death of, 97.
Ellis, Alexander : death of, 277.
Emslie, Pte. Frank : M.M., 171.
Engineering, Chair of, 65.
Entwistle, W. J. : note on, 82.
Esslemont, Elizabeth : note on, 80.
Evolution of Matter. By Professor F.
Soddy, 1 16.
Ewart, Charles Theodore : note on, 75.
Ewen, Lieut. Edgar H. : death of, 284.
Ewen, J. T. : gift to Museum, 169.
Ewing, James: D.Sc., 82.
Examiners appointed, 169, 260.
Foe the Glen. By W. B. Morren, 42.
Farquhar, John N. : note on, 76, 173.
Ferguson, 2nd Lt. Alex. L. H.: death of,
188.
Ferrier, Sir David : note on, 71.
Finances of the University, 256.
Findlater, Lce.-Cpl. Alex. : death of, 189.
Findlay, Professor A. : note on, 81, 173.
Findlay, Capt. John : note on, 70.
Finlayson, Sidney K. : note on, 266.
Fleming, Major Frank: T.D., 6g.
Fleming, Sir John: M.P., 264.
For a Memorial War Service. By G. Rown-
tree Harvey, 140.
Forbes, J. K. : note on, 81 ; Memoir of, re-
viewed, 249.
Forestry* Department, 175.
Forsyth, Principal Peter T. : note on, 78, 81,
177, 272.
Eraser, Lt.-Col. A. D. : D.S.O., 260; dis-
patches, 261.
Eraser, Sgt. Andrew : death of, 91,
Eraser, John H. : note on, 76.
Eraser, Capt. Simon J. C. : dispatches,
261.
Fraser, Lt.-Col. Thomas : dispatches, 261.
Fridge, Rev. Alex. : death of, 184.
Fyfe, Rev. William Dey : note on, 262.
Fyfe, Pte. Leslie : death of, 92.
Gall, David M. : death of, 278.
Galloway, Cpl. Jack : death of, 189.
Galloway, Col. James : dispatches, 171 ;
C.B., 260.
Galloway, Capt. Rudolf: note on, 173.
Garden, Major J. W. : dispatches, 70 ; T.D.,
262.
Gemmill, Jas. F : examiner, 169.
General Council : Assessors re-elected, 66 ;
Business Committee, 66; Petitions
Parliament against Preliminary Ex-
amination Ordinance, 67.
Ghent, German University at, 72.
Gibbon, John Murray : note on, 81.
Gibson, Rev. John M. : death of, 88.
Gibson, Professor R. J. Harvey : examiner,
169 ; note on, 172.
Gilchrist, Professor D. A. : examiner, 260.
Gillies, Capt. James Brown : death of, 189.
Index to Volume IV
291
Gilmore, 2nd Lt. Williejohn O. : death of,
284.
Gilroy, Professor James: gift to Museum,
169.
Glashan, Herbert W. : note on, 266.
Glegg, Robert : death of, 184.
Goodwillie, James : note on, 74.
Gordon, Last Duke of: note on, 273.
Gordon, Cpl. Charles J. D. S, : death of,
189.
Gordon, Dr. John : note on, 76.
Gordon, Lieut. Thos. J. : M.C., 171.
Gordon, Rev. William L. : note on 71.
Gordon genealogical tree, 203.
Graduation, 82, 273.
Graduation Address, March 23, 1917. By
the Principal, 242.
Grrant, Capt. Alistair R. : note on, 71.
Grant, Lt.-Col. H. F. Lyall: dispatches,
70; D.S.O., 170.
Grant, Lieut. Rev. John Spence; M.C., 69;
death of, 284.
Grant, Rev. W. M. : note on, 81.
Grant, William: elected to Review Com-
mittee, 66.
Grant, Rev. William : note on, 74.
Gray, Francis W. : reviews Findlay's Chem-
istry in the Science of Man, 56.
Gray, Rev. George : note on, 262.
Gray, Lt.-Col. Henry M. W. : dispatches,
171.
Gray, Rev. Dr. James G. : note on, 266.
Gray, R. A. : examiner, 260.
Gray, Robert : death of, 184.
Greig, George : death of, 184, 278.
Greig, Lt.-Col. John : death of, 88.
Grub, Very Rev. George : note on, 177.
Gunn, Sgt. Alex. J. : death of, 284.
Haig, Cpl. William S. : death of, i8g.
Hall, Fleet-Surg. John F, : note on, 76.
Harper, John : death of, 88.
Hart, Lieut. Alfred P. : dispatches, 172.
Harvard Graduates Magazine : reviewed,
141.
Harvey, G. Rowntree : For a Memorial War
Service, 140.
Hastings, Rev. Dr. James : note on, 81.
Hastings, 2nd Lieut. James S. : death of,
92.
Hay, Frederick : death of, 228.
Hay, Dr. George Petrie : death of, 88.
Hay, Professor Matthew : note on, 177.
Hector, James M. : note on, 266.
Hector, Mabel : note on, 173.
Henderson, Lieut. Alex R. : death of, 189.
Henderson, Professor Geo. G., LL.D. :
Examiner, 169.
Henderson, Capt. James M. : M.C., 171.
Henderson, Rev. Richard: note on, 263.
Hendrick, Cadet Charles : note on, 173.
Hendrick, Professor James: note on, 81,
264.
Hendry, 2nd Lieut. Allan: M.C., 69.
Hobbs, Rev. David : note on, 76.
Honorary degrees, 73.
Horn, David : note on, 262.
Home, Pte. Alex. R. : death of, igo.
Horsley, Sir Victor : death of, 88.
Hosie, Lt.-Col. Andrew: C.M.G., 260.
Houlston, Rev. Edward C. : note on, 178.
Howie, Capt. : note on, 70.
Howie, Rev. David P. : note on, 178.
" Ilium." By John Watt Simpson, 44.
Indian Civil Service Examination, 257.
Ingram, Capt. William J. S. : M.C., 170.
Innes, Capt. John Alexander, M.B. : marries
Elizabeth Stephen, M.B., 81.
Irvine, Professor, Dean of Faculty of Law,
264.
Iverach, Principal : to teach joint classes,
66.
Jack, Professor A. A. ; note on, 178.
Jackson, William : founds Chair of Engineer-
ing, 65.
Jamieson, George : note on, 76.
Jenkins, 2nd Lieut. Donald F. : M.C., 69;
death of, 190.
Jessiman, Janetta M. : note on, 80.
Johnston, 2nd Lieut. Alex. F. : death of,
92.
Johnston, Dr. George : death of, 88.
Johnston, Rev. John : dispatches, 261.
Johnstone, J. F. Kellas : note on, 272.
Keith, Professor Arthur : note on, 81, 178.
Kennedy, 2nd Lieut. Edwin A. : death of,
285.
Kennedy, Capt. John Alex. : death of, 92.
Killed in Action. By R. C. L. : in Latin, by
W. B. A , 230.
King, Lieut. John Alex. : death of, 92.
Kirton, Capt. John : dispatches, 261.
Kitchener, Lord : resolution anent death of,
68.
Knowles, Lieut. Benjamin : dispatches, 70 ;
M.M., 171.
Lackie, J. Lamond : examiner, 169.
Lawson, Capt. James : dispatches, 172.
Leask, W. Keith : note on, 272.
Leslie, Peter, lecturer : note on, 175.
Lethbridge, Lt.-Col. Sir Alfred S. : death of,
278.
Letters from Men on Service, 49, 146, 245.
Lillie, Rev. David : note on, 82.
Lillie, William : fourth bursar, 82.
Lillie, Rev. William L. : note on, 82.
Lister, Lt.-Col. A. H. : dispatches, 69 ; death
of, 85 ; note on, 266.
Littlejohn, Capt. James W. : M.C., 170.
Lobban, John Hay : note on, 76, 81.
Longmore, Capt. H. J. A. : note on, 70.
Low, 2nd Lieut. George : death of, 92.
Low, Capt. John : D.S.O., 261.
2()2 Aberdeen University Review
Lumsden, Edith R. : note on, 82.
Lumsden, Rev. James : note on, 178.
Lumsden, Lt.-Col. P. J. : dispatches, 69.
Lyall, Constance Edina : note on, 80.
Lyall, Lieut. James : death of, 190.
Lyall, Capt. William: M.C., 170.
Lyon, Capt. Robert : death of, 93.
Lyster, Robert A. : Examiner, 169.
M., F. G. : translations from the Greek
Anthology, 235.
MacAlister, Principal Sir Donald: Murtle
Lecturer ; Westminster Standards of
the Scottish Church, 99.
MacBain, Alexander, LL.D. : note on, 266.
MacBain, 2nd Lieut. John M. : death of,
93.
MacBeth, 2nd Lieut. William D. : death of,
285.
MacCombie, Sgt. John Alex. : death of, 93.
MacCombie, Meta : note on, 80.
MacCuUoch, Capt. John : death of, 286.
MacCurrach, 2nd Lieut. George : death of,
93.
MacDonald, Rev. Angus M. : note on, 74.
MacDonald, Annie : note on, 80.
MacDonald, Donald : note on, 76.
MacDonald, Lieut. George G. : dispatches,
172 ; note on, 262.
MacDonald, 2nd Lieut. George H. : death of,
93 ; dispatches, 172.
MacDonald, Professor H. M. : note on, 74,
176.
MacDonald, Lieut. Hector R. : death of,
192, 283.
MacDonald, Col. Stuart: dispatches, 171;
Croix de Guerre, 262.
MacDougall, Dr. William : death of, 89.
MacEchern, Rev. Christian V. M. : note on,
76, 173.
MacGillivray, Pittendrigh : note on, 178.
MacGregor, C. Q.S. Charles : Appreciation
by George Smith, LL.D., 6.
MacGregor, Lce-Cpl. Duncan : death of, 94.
MacGregor, Sir William : note on, 267.
MacGrigor, Sir James R. D. : presents paint-
ing of Marischal College quadrangle, 65.
MacHardy, Rev. Francis : note on, 178.
MacHardy, Lieut. William : dispatches, 70.
Maclver, R. M. : note on, 272.
Mackay, Alex. Morrice: note on, 178.
Mackay, George : note on, 77.
Mackay, Rev. John Alex. : note on, 77.
Mackay, Capt. Robert J. : D.S.O., 69.
Mackeggie, Rev. George Alex. : note on, 77.
Mackenzie, Rev. Donald : note on, 77.
Mackenzie, Dudley McD. : death of, 278.
Mackenzie, John : death of, 8g.
Mackenzie, John A. : note on, 81, 173.
Mackenzie, Capt. John Moir ; M.C., 69.
Mackenzie, Margaret R. : Birth Brieves of
Burgh of Aberdeen, 150.
Mackessack, Lt.-Col. Peter : dispatches,
171 ; D.S.O., 260.
Mackie, Lt.-Col. George: D.S.O., 260; dis-
patches, 261.
Mackie, WilHam : note on, 267.
Mackie, William S. : examiner, 169.
Mackinnon, Doris Livingston: note on, 71.
Mackinnon, Lt.-Col. Lachlan : note on, 77,
267.
Mackintosh, Professor A. W. : note on, 74,
MacLaurin, Colin : note on, 267.
MacLean, Rev. Dr. Alexander : death of, 89.
MacLean, James : note on, 77.
MacLean, Rev. Dr. Norman: Murtle Lec-
turer, 67.
MacLean, Rev. William G. : note on, 77.
MacLennan, Lt.-Col. Farquhar: note on,
172.
MacLennan, John F. : death of, 279.
MacLennan, William : examiner, 169.
MacLeod, Dr. Charles : elected to Council's
Business Committee, 66.
MacLeod, Rev. William A. : death of, 190.
MacQueen, Rev. David J. : note on, 77.
MacQueen, Dr. James M. : note on, 77.
MacRae, Alfred R. : death of, 94.
Mair, Very Rev. Dr. William: Senior
Alumnus of King's College, 81.
Marischal College Quadrangle : Painting of,
65.
Marr, Capt. David M. : dispatches, 261.
Masson, Lieut. James A. : death of, 285.
Mathieson, William L., LL.D. : examiner,
169.
Maydon, Lt.-Col. W. G. : dispatches, 70.
Meikleham, John P. : death of, 185.
Meldrum, Rev. Neil : note on, 268.
Merson, Lieut. Marshall : death of, 286.
Merson, Capt. William M. S. : death of, 190.
Meston, Sir James S. : note on, 178, 268.
Middlemiss, Rev. J. T. : note on, 77.
Miller, Daniel G. : note on, 178.
Miller, Rev. David: note on, 78.
Milligan, David M. M. : note on, 268.
Milne, Lt.-Col. A. D. : dispatches, 69 ; C.B.,
260.
Milne, Rev. James: note on, 268.
Milne, Capt. Joseph Ellis: D.S.O., 69;
dispatches, 179 ; death of, 192, 282.
Milne, Dr. Leslie J. : note on, 78.
Milne, Dr. Thomas: elected to Council's
Busines Committee, 66.
Minty, Eliza : note on, 80.
Mitchell, Bishop Anthony: death of, 183;
Memories by Canon Perry, 135.
Mitchell, Dr. Chalmers : note on, 81.
Mitchell, Edmund B. M. : Call of the Bells,
167 ; death of, 279.
Mitchell, Lt.-Col. P. : note on, 70.
Mitchell, William : note on, 179.
Moir, Dr. Francis W. : death of, 94.
Moir, Capt. John Hay : M.C., 170.
Moir, William Francis : death of, 89.
Montreal University Magazine: reviewed,
143-
Morgan, Lt.-Col. Claude K. : dispatches, 261.
Index to Volume IV
293
Morren, W. B. : Fae the Glen, 42.
Morris, and Lieut. Alfred G, : death of, 95.
Morrison, Rev. James H. : note on, 268.
Morrison family : honorary degrees, 73.
Mortimer, Capt. Hector : note on, 81,
Muill, George W. : death of, 185.
Munro, Rev. Colin R. : note on, 78.
Munro, Capt. William F. : dispatches, 261.
Murison, Professor A. F, : note on, 78.
Murray, Rev. Alex., D.D., note on, 269.
Murray, Rev. Dr. Andrew: death of, 185,
274.
Murray, Charles : The Wife on the War, 29.
Murray, Pte. Murdo M. : death o , 95.
Murray, Rev. Nath. Munro : note on, 78,
269.
Murray, Rev. Robert : note on, 269.
Murtle Lectures, 67.
Museum, gifts to, 168.
Myles, Capt. Robert B. : note on, 173.
NiCHOLLS, Capt. Thomas B. : note on, 173.
Nicol, Capt. C. M. : note on, 70.
Nicol, Very Rev. Professor : death of, 84 ;
Appreciation by Rev. W. S. Bruce;
Tribute by Principal Sir G. Adam
Smith, 4.
Nicoll, Sir W. Robertson : note on, 81, 270.
Niven, Marjorie D : note on, 80.
Niven, Sir William D. : death of, 275.
Nobl ^ Peter S. : first bursar, 82.
North of Scotland College of Agriculture ;
publications, 167.
Obituary, 83, 182, 274.
O'Connor, Christina G. : note on, 82.
Ogilvie, Francis Grant : note on, 78.
Ogilvie, Major Francis Grant : note on, 173.
Ogilvie family : honorary degrees, 73.
Ogston, Sir Alexander : no*e on, 71.
Orr, Capt. John Boyd : M.C., 69.
Otago University Review ; reviewed, 144.
Other University Periodicals. By Principal
Sir G. Adam Smith, 141.
Our Indian Territorials. By Miss Clerihew,
51-
Our New Chancellor. By J. M. Bulloch, 193.
Our Schools and the Work that lies before
them. By Sir Henry Cra k, 204.
Oxford University Handbook : note on, 166.
Paxton, Arthur G. : death of, 89.
Peddie, Rev. John C. : note on, 270.
Pennsylvania Alumni Register: note on,
145.
Perry, Canon : note on, 78 ; Bishop Mitchell,
135.
Personalia, 73, 176, 264.
Peter, Capt. Alex. Gordon: M.C., 170.
Philip, Capt. Frederick: note on, 71.
Pirie, Pte. Gilbert A. : death of, 191.
Pirie, Capt. William S. : death of, 286.
Pittendrigh, Hon. the Rev. George : note on,
78.
Preliminary Examination Ordinance, 67.
Preston, S. Tolver '6i-'63 : death of, 280.
Profeit, Lt.-Col. Charles W. : D.S.O., 170 ;
dispatches, 171.
Profeit, Capt. Leopold : death of, 286.
Professor Nicol — An Appreciation. By Rev.
W. S. Bruce, i.
Rae, Rev. Dr. George M. : death of, 280.
Rae, Lieut. James : death of, 286.
Rae, Lt.-Col. John E. : T.D., 262.
Rae, Lt.-Col. William : dispatches, 171.
Rae, William : note on, 78.
Ramsay, Mary Paton : note on, 181.
Ramsay, Professor Sir W. M. : note on, 271.
Rattray, John M. : note on, 270.
Reid, Capt. Edmund Lewis : dispatches, 70.
Reid, 2nd Lt. George : death of, 287.
Reid, Sir James : note on, 78.
Reid, John : death of, 280.
Reid, Capt. John : services, 261.
Reid, 2nd Lt. William G. : death of, 287.
Reid, Pte. William M. : death of, 191.
Reith, Rev. George : note on, 179.
Reith, John : note on, 270.
Rennie, Dr. John : elected to Council's Busi-
ness Committee, 66.
Reviews : —
Anderson, P. J. : Bibliography of Aberdeen
Class Records, 161.
Benton, A. H. : Indian Moral Instruction,
247.
Bibby^s Annual for 1916, 64.
Black, George F. : List of Works Relating
to Scotland, 59.
Bowie, W. Chalmers: Ccesar's Wars
with the Germans, 63.
Bulloch, J. M. : Class Records in Aberdeen
and America, 157.
Bureau of American Ethnology: Reports,
166.
Carnegie Institution Year Book, 253.
Columbia University Quarterly, 141, 253.
Findlay, Alexander : Chemistry in the
Service of Man, 56.
Forbes, George : David Gill — Man and
Astronomer, 157.
Harvard Graduates* Magazine, 141.
Johnstone, J. F. Kellas : The Lost Aber-
deen Theses, 161.
MacBain, Alex. : Celtic Mythology and
Religion, 248.
Mackie, A lexander : Prose and Verse. Ed.
• J. Minto Robertson, 53.
Mitchell, Edmund : The Call of the Bells,
252.
Murray, Charles: A Sough 0' War, 251.
Otago University Review, 144.
Oxford University Press : General Cata^
logue^ 164.
Philip, J. B. : Nature Study Lessons, 165.
Smith, Rev. Harry : Layman's Book, 166.
Smith, Principal Sir G. A. : The War, the
Nation, and the Church, 63.
294 Aberdeen University Review
Reviews — cont. —
Souter, Professor Alexander : Pelagius'
Commentary on Epistles of St. Paul,
165 ; Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New
Testament, 62.
Stark, James : Sermons, 251.
Sydney University Medical jfournal, 145.
Taylor, William and Diack, Peter : Student
and Sniper -Sergeant, 249.
Terry, Professor C. S. : Bach's Mass in
B Minor ; Scull's Chorals, 57 ; The
Battle oj Jutland Bank, 64.
University Magazine : Montreal, 143.
Varsity Magazine Supplement : Toronto,
144.
Richards, Marion B. : note on, 80 ; D.Sc, 82.
Richards, Capt. R. : note on, 70.
Richmond and Gordon, Duke of : Chancellor,
193.
Riddel, Capt. Donald O. : D.S.O., 170;
Montenegro Medal, 172.
Riddel, 2nd Lieut. John D. : death of, 287.
Riddel, Lieut. Robert M, : death of, 95.
Riddell, Col. John Scott : re-elected Assessor,
66 ; note on, 262.
Riddoch, George : M.D., 273.
Ritchie, Surg. George Lee : M.C., 171.
Ritchie, James : note on, 179.
Ritchie, Major M. B. H. : dispatches, 261.
Ritchie, R. L. Graeme : examiner, 169.
Ritchie, Lt.-Col. Theodore F. : D.S.O,,
170 ; dispatches, 171.
Ritchie, Professor W. : University Develop-
ment in South Africa, 216.
Ritchie, Major W. D. : dispatches, 70.
Robb, Capt. Alex. : note on, 173.
Robertson, J. Minto : edits Alexander Mackie,
53.
Robertson, Rev. Robert : note on, 71.
Robertson, Rev. Thomas B. : note on, 179.
Rose, Lieut.-Col. A. MacGregor : dispatches,
70, 171; D.S.O. , 170; gifts to Museum,
168.
Ross, Annie Cameron : note on, 181.
Ross, Lieut. Simon F. : death of, 287.
Royce, Dr. Josiah : death of, 90.
Russell, Capt. Robert F. : death of, 288.
Russell, William : death of, 185.
Russell, Capt. William : dispatches, 261.
Ruxton, Thomas : third bursar, 82.
Sarbadhikary, Dr. : note on, 145.
Savege, 2nd Lieut. Ronald M. : M.C., 171.
Schools and Schoolmasters. By Charles
Stewart, 31.
Scott, Lt.-Col. George : C.B., 260.
Scottish Universities Students' Hostel, 72.
Selbie, 2nd Lt. Colin M. : death of, 95.
Senior Alumnus of King's College : Very
Rev. Dr. William Mair, 81.
Senior Graduate of King's College : Rev.
George Compton Smith, 81.
Seton, Professor R. S. : examiner, i6g.
Shanks, Pte. John W. : death of, 191.
Shearer, Col. Johnston : death of, 186.
Shennan, Professor : Dean of Faculty of
Arts, 264.
Shepherd, George J. : death of, 90.
Sidelights on the Mediceval Student: \\.
By J. D. Symon, 15.
Sim, 2nd Lieut. John Moir : death of, 288.
Simpson, F. D. : The Sword of God, 134.
Simpson, James : death of, 280.
Simpson, 2nd Lieut. John W. : death of, 191.
Simpson, John Watt: *' Ilium,''' 44.
Simpson, Pte. Robert M. : death of, 288.
Simpson, Rev. Dr. Robert S. : Murtle Lec-
turer, 67.
Simpson, Professor W. J. R. : note on, 262.
Sinclair, 2nd Lieut. Harold A. : M.C., 171.
Sivewright, Sir James : bequest of ;^io,ooo,
65 ; death of, 86.
Sivewright, Rev. Robert Troup : note on, 79.
Skene, MacGregor: note on, 81.
Skinner, David : note on, 179.
Skinner, Principal John : note on, 179.
Skinner, Principal William : note on, 79,
179.
Skinner, Lt.-Col. William B. : D.S.O., 170.
j Slesser, William D. V. : note on, 180.
Smart, Charles : note on, 181.
Smart, Major James: note on, 70.
Smith, George, LL.D. : C. Q. S. Charles
McGregor, 6.
Smith, Lt.-Col. G. A. : dispatches, 70, 172.
Smith, Principal Sir George Adam: as
Moderator, 73; F.B.A., 73; F.R.S.E.,
264 ; Vice-Chancellor, 264 ; Tribute to
Professor Nicol, 4; Other University
Periodicals, 141 ; Professor A. B. David-
son, 237; Graduation Address, 242.
Smith, Rev. George Compton: Senior
Graduate of King's College, 81.
Smith, Capt. H. E. : note on, 70.
Smith, Rev. James : note on, 270.
Smith, Col. the Rev. James : re-elected
Assessor, 66.
Smith, Dep. Surg.-Gen. James L. : note on,
79.
Smith, 2nd Lieut. Robert J. : death of, 191.
Smith, Capt. William A. : death of, 288.
Soddy, Professor Frederick : Evolution of
Matter, 118.
Souter, Professor : Dean of Faculty of Arts,
264; note on, 271.
Soutter, Rev. J. P. : dispatches, 70.
Soutter, Rev. James T. : note on, 79, 271.
Speight, H. E. B. : The War and Subscrip-
tions for the '* Review,"" 156.
Stenhouse, Fleet-Surg. John H. : note on, 79.
Stephen, Elizabeth, M.B. : marries Capt.
John Alex. Innes, M.B., 81.
Stephen, Esther : note on, 81.
Stephen, Capt. William : death of, 191.
Stewart, Dr. Alex. Graham : note on, 173.
Stewart, Principal Charles : elected to Coun-
cil's Business Committee, 66; Schools
and Schoolmasters, 31,
Index to Volume IV
295
Stewart, Col. David D. B. : services, 261.
Stevi^art, Elsie W.: note on, 80.
Stewart, Capt. George R. W. : M.C., 170.
Stewart, Capt. James S. : dispatches, 70.
Stirling, Sir James : death of, 83.
Strachan, Alex. L. : death of, 95.
Strong, John : examiner, 169.
Stuart, Alex. M. : examiner, 169.
Students, Decrease of, 257.
Sturt, Henry : note on, 264.
Summary of Graduates, etc., on Naval and
Military Service, 174.
Sutherland, George K. : D.Sc, 82.
Sutherland, William L. I. : de.th of, 186.
Sword of God, The. By F. D. Simpson,
134-
Sydney University Medical journal, 145.
Symon, J. D. : Sidelights on the Mediceval
Student, 15; iQvi&vfs Alexander Mackie,
53.
Taylor, Capt. Alex. P. : dispatches, 261.
Taylor, Pte. Andrew J. B. : death of, 191 ;
note on, 273.
Taylor, James : presentation to, 273.
Taylor, Capt. John O. : death of, 288.
Taylor, 2nd Lieut. William : dispatches,
172.
Tennant, 2nd Lieut. Edward M. C. : death
of, 191.
Terry, Professor : note on, 271.
Thom, George : death of, 186.
Thompson, Alice : note on, 80.
Thompson, Rev. George L. S. : note on,
271.
Thomson, Andrew W. : note on, 82.
Thomson, Lce.-Corpl. Henry W. : death of
288.
Thomson, Col. James : C.B., 170 ; dis-
patches, 171.
Thomson, Capt. James E. G. : dispatches,
172.
Thomson, Professor J. Arthur : note on, 74,
271.
Thomson, W. Stewart, and the Review,
263 ; note on, 79.
Thursfield, Thomas William : first graduate
of Aberdeen University, 79.
Tindall, Capt. Robert : dispatches, 261.
Tocher, Dr. James F. : note on, 80.
Toronto University Magazine : reviewed,
144.
Trail, Stephen Gait : note on, 180.
Trail, Capt. W. S. : dispatches, 70 ; note
on, 173.
Translations from the Greek Anthology.
By F. G. M., 235.
Troup, Major Arthur G. : note on, 71.
Troup, Lt.-Col. George A. : T.D., 262.
Turnbull, Lieut. Peter M. : M.C., 69.
Turner, George Albert : death of, 187.
Turner, Stanley Horsfall : death of, 90.
Tyler, Sir Edward Burnett : death of, 185.
United Free Church College : joint classes
in, 60.
University and the War, 69.
University Development in South Africa.
By Rrofessor W. Ritchie, 216.
University Topics, 65, 168, 254.
University Disputing Society of 1795-6. By
A. H. Young, 45.
Urquhart, Andrew : death of, 90.
Urquhart, Professor W. S. : note on, 272.
Urquhart, Lieut. Rev. William : death of,
96, 192.
Urquhart, Rev. William S. : note on, 180.
Usher, Major C. H. : note on, 70.
ViCKERS, Professor K. H. : examiner, 260.
Walker, Alexander, LL.D. : note on, 74.
Walker, Rev. George : D.D., 73.
Walker, Robert, LL.D. : reviews Forbes's
David Gill, 157 ; note on, 74.
Walker, Dep. Surg.-Gen. William, LL.D. :
note on, 74.
Walker family : honorary degrees, 73.
War Obituary, 90, 187, 282.
Ward, Dr. Martindale C. : death of, 90.
Wardhaugh, Carrick : note on, 180.
Wardrop, Col. Douglas : C.B., 260.
Watt, Lt.-Col. Edward W. : services, 261.
Watt, George : note on, 180.
Watt, James: M.D., 82.
Watt, Pte. James R. : death of, 192.
Watt, Theodore: elected to Council's Busi-
ness Committee, 66 ; reviews John-
stone's Lost Aberdeen Theses and Bul-
loch & Anderson's Class Records, 161.
Wattie, Katharine B. M. : note on, 273.
Webb, Dr. John Eustace : death of, 90.
Webster, Capt. W. J. : dispatches, 261.
Westminster Standards of the Scottish
Church. By Principal Sir Donald
MacAlister, 99.
White, Capt. M. F. : Croix de Guerre, 261.
Whyte, Principal Alexander : note on, 180.
Wife on the War, The. By Charles Murray,
29.
Williams, Professor Robert A. : examiner, i6g.
Williamson, Lt.-Col. A. J. : dispatches, 261.
Williamson, Capt. Maurice J.: M.C. 170.
Wilson, Claudine I. : note on, 82.
Wilson, 2nd Lieut. John A. : death of, 192.
Wilson, John T. : examiner, 169.
Wisely, Rev. Dr. George: death of, 281.
Wood, Annabella : note on, 80.
Wood, Ida E. : note on, 80.
Wood, James : note on, 80.
Wright, A. W. O. : M.D., 82.
Wright, Rev. H. W. : reviews Terry's Bach's
Mass, Baches Chorals, 57.
Young, A. H. : University's Disputing
Society of 1795-6, 45-
Young, John : death of, 281.
Youngson, Rev. John W., D.D.: note on, 271.
Illustrations.
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon ....
The Very Reverend Thomas Nicol, M.A., D.D. .
Charles McGregor, M.A
The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, K.G. .
The Right Reverend Anthony Mitchell, M.A., D.D.
Professor A. B. Davidson
frontispiece "^
To face page i
6
97
135
237
\
3n fin^emodam.
1914.
Medical Officer Thomas Peppe Fraser, H.M. Colonial
Medical Service, West African Medical Staff, attached
to troops on reconnaissance on the eastern frontier of
Nigeria, where he was killed in action, 5 September,
aged 35 M.B., Ch.B., '01
Maj. Alexander Kirkland Robb, Durham Light Infantry,
died of wounds received in action, France, 20 Sep-
tember Matr. Student, '89
1915.
Surgeon William Mellis Mearns, Royal Navy, sank with
H.M.S. "Formidable," i Jan., aged 31 M.B., Ch.B., '08
Lieut. -Col. William Henry Gray, Indian Medical Service,
died on recall to Service, 14 January, aged 52 M.B., Ch.B., 'S6
Lieut. Angus Forsyth Legge, attached Singapore Volun-
teer Corps, killed in the Singapore Mutiny, 16
February, aged 25 M.B., Ch.B., '12
2nd Lieut. Lewis Neil Griffith Ramsay, 2nd Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 21 March, aged
25 M.A., 191 1 ; B.Sc. (with special distinction in Botany), '12
Lance-Corpl. Edward Watt, 4th Seaforth Hrs., died 22
March of wounds received at Neuve Chapelle, 10
March, aged 23 B.Sc. (Agr.), '14
Private James Orr Cruickshank, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., killed in Flanders, 15 April, aged 19 ist Sci.
Sergt. Alexander Skinner, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action in Flanders, 22 April, aged 31
Teacher in Dumbarton ; Arts & Sci. Stud., 'o9-'ii
I
2 In Memoriam
Sergt. Victor Charles MacRae, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in Flanders when attempting to remove
a wounded comrade, 28 April, aged 23
M.A., 1st Class Hons. in Classics, '14
Corpl. Keith Mackay, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon Hrs.,
died 28 April, in a Casualty Clearing Hospital,
France, of wounds received in action, 20 March, aged
20 2nd Arts & ist Med. ; M.A., '15
Private Alexander Mitchell, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., died 28 April, in a Field Hosp., France, of
wounds received 27 April, aged 25 2nd Arts
Lieut. Geoffrey Gordon, S.R.O., attd. 12th Lancers, killed
in action in Flanders, 30 April I.C.S. ; M.A., Hons. Maths., '03
Private John Forbes Knowles, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 5 May, aged 24
United Free Church Div. Student ; M.A., '12
Private David Wood Crichton, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 7 May, aged 18 ist Agr.
Sapper James Sanford Murray, 51st (Highl. Divisional)
Signal Coy. (formerly 4th Gordon Hrs.), died in
a Field Hosp., France, of wounds, 27 May, aged 20. 2nd Arts
Private Robert Hugh Middleton, D (late U) Coy. Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, i June, aged 22 3rd Arts
Private Marianus Alex. Cumming, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action, Flanders, 13 June, aged 23
Teacher, Kemnay ; M.A., '12
Lieut. Wm. Leslie Scott, 5th Gordon Hrs., killed in action,
Flanders, 16 June, aged 22 3rd Med.
L. -Corpl. Andrew Thomson Fowlie, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action, Flanders, 16 June, aged 26 Un. Dipl. Agr., '09
Private James Clapperton Forbes, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 16 June, aged
20 3rd Agr.
Private James Whyte, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., died of wounds received in action, 16 June,
aged 21 2nd Arts
Private Robert Patrick Gordon, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 17 June,
aged 19 2nd Arts
In Memoriam 3
Private George McSween, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 16 June, aged 23
Aberdeen Training Centre
Private Harry Lyon, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in action,
Flanders, 17 June, aged 22 2nd Arts
L.-Sergt. Alex. David Duncan, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., died of wounds received in action, 16
or 17 June, aged 21 M.A., '14
L.-Corpl. Murdo Maclver, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 19 June, aged 20 3rd Agr.
Lance-Corpl. James Cruickshank, ist Gordon Hrs., died
of wounds, Flanders, July ist Arts; 3rd Bursar, '14
Sergt. (of Bombers) Alexander Allardyce, 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 20 July, aged 30
M.A., '04; B.L.
Sergt. John McLean Thomson, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action in Flanders, 22 July, aged 26
United Free Church Div. Student ; M.A., 'l I
Capt. Arthur Kellas, 89th Field Ambulance, killed in
action on the Dardanelles, 6 August, aged 31 M.B., '06
? Douglas Jamieson, 8th Australian Light Horse, killed in
action on the Dardanelles, 7 August Former Agr. Stud.
2nd Lieut. Frederick Alexander Rose, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action in Flanders, 10 August, aged 25
M.A., 1st Hons. Eng., '11 ; B.A., Oxon.
Sergt. George Cameron Auchinachie, ist Gordon Hrs.,
killed in Flanders, 23 August, aged 24, by bursting
of a shell ; previously thrice wounded Med. Student, 'io-'i3
Private Alexander John Fowlie, 13th Infantry Batt.,
Australian Imperial Force, killed in action on the
Dardanelles, August, aged 26 M.A., 'il
Lieut. -Col. John Ellison Macqueen, commanding 6th
Gordon Hrs., killed in action about Loos, Flanders,
25 September, aged 40 Law Student, '9l-'95
Lieut. Alex. Rennie Henderson, 4th Gordon Hrs., reported
wounded and missing after action near Hooge,
Flanders, 25 September, presumed killed on that
date, aged 27 Teacher; M.A., '11
4 In Memoriam
Lieut. Frederick Charles Stephen, 6th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action about Loos, Flanders, 25 September, aged 29
M.A, 1st Hons. Maths., '09
2nd Lieut. George Macbeth Calder, 8th Gordon Hrs.
(previously Sergt. U Coy.), killed in action, about
Loos, Flanders, 25 September, aged 24 2nd Med., M.A., '15
2nd Lieut. Ian Catto Fraser, 2nd Argyll and Sutherland
Hrs., killed in action, Flanders, 25 September,
aged 20 I st Arts
2nd Lieut. William Robert Kennedy, 4th Seaforth Hrs.
(previously U Coy. 4th Gordons), killed in action in
Flanders, 25 September, aged 19 ist Med., 'i4-'i5
2nd Lieut. George Low, 4th Gordon Hrs. (previously
Sergt. Maj. U Coy.), missing after action near
Hooge, Flanders, 25 September, presumed killed on
that date, aged 25 Teacher; M.A., 1st Hons. Classics, '14
2nd Lieut. John Cook Macpherson, ist Gordon Hrs., died
of wounds received in action about Hooge, Flanders,
25 September, aged 29 M. A, '10 ; LL.B.
2nd Lieut. Ian Charles McPherson, 2nd Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action about Loos, Flanders, 25 September,
aged 21 M.A., '14
2nd Lieut. George Buchanan Smith, S.R.O., attd. 2nd
Gordon Hrs., killed in action about Loos, Flanders,
25 September, aged 24 M.A., Hons. Hist. (Glas.) ; LL.B., '14
2nd Lieut. William John Campbell Sangster, 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action about Hooge, Flanders, 25
September, aged 20 M.A., '14
Sergt. John Keith Forbes, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action near Hooge, Flanders, 25 September, aged 32
United Free Church Div. Student ; M.A., '05
Sergt. Alexander David Marr, 7th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action, Flanders, 25 September, aged 23 M.A., Hons. Maths., '14
Sergt. Bertram Wilkie Tawse, 4th Cameron Hrs., killed
in action, Flanders, 25 September, aged 31
M.A., Hons. Maths., '05 ; B.Sc.
Corpl. William Stephen Haig, 4th Gordon Hrs. (previously
U Coy.), killed in action about Hooge, Flanders, 25
September, aged 22 M.A., '14
In Memoriam 5
Lance-Corpl. Alexander Findlater, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., missing after action near Hooge,
Flanders, 25 September, presumed killed on that date,
aged 19 1st Arts
Private James Hume Adams, 6th Cameron Hrs., killed in
action about Loos, Flanders, 25 September, aged 27
1st Arts and Law, 'i4-'i5
Private James Anderson, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs. , died a prisoner at Giessen from wounds received
in action near Hooge, Flanders, 25 September, aged 23 3rd Arts
Private William Donald, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon Hrs.,
missing after action near Hooge, Flanders, 25 Sep-
tember, presumed killed on that date, aged 22 2nd Arts
Private John Birnie Ewen, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in action
about Hooge, Flanders, 25 September, aged 22
M.A., Hons. Class., '14
Private John Hampton Strachan Mason, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action near Hooge, 25 September, aged 24
M.A., Hons. Engl., '13
Private Duncan MacGregor, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action near Hooge, Flanders, 25 September About to matriculate
Private Roderick Dewar MacLennan, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action near Hooge, Flanders, 25 September,
aged 18 1st Arts, 'i4-'i5
Private Gordon Dean Munro, 4th Gordon Hrs., died, a
prisoner, of wounds received in action near Hooge, 25
September, aged 20 ist Med.
Private Murdo Morrison Murray, 5th Cameron Hrs., killed
in action about Loos, 25 September, aged 30 Teacher ; M. A., '08
Private John William Shanks, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gor-
don Hrs., reported missing after action near Hooge,
Flanders, 25 September, now presumed killed on
that date, aged 22 2nd Arts
Private Alexander Silver, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., died a prisoner in a German Hospital of
wounds received in action near Hooge, Flanders, 25
September, aged 21 2nd Arts and Agr.
Private James Mathewson Stuart, 6th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action near Loos, Flanders, 25 September, aged 21 ist Arts
6 In Memoriam
Maj. (Tempy.) James Mowat, R.A.M.C., late Fleet-Surg.
R.N., sank with transport in Mediterranean M.B., *9i
Herbert Mather Jamieson, entd. as Tempy. Lieut.
R.A.M.C., volunteered for med. service in R.N.,
died 26 September, aged 33 M.B., '04
Private Frederick William Milne, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action near Hooge, October, aged 19 ist Med., 'i4-'i5
Rev. Robert Murray, Chaplain, Roy. Austral. Naval Res.,
died 9 October, aged 52 M.A., '83 ; B.D. St. And.
Lieut. Hector MacLennan Guthrie, 3rd Lancashire Fusi-
liers (previously Sergt. U Coy. 4th Gordons), killed
in action, Gallipoli, November, aged 23 M.A., ist Hons. Eng., '14
LieuL James Reston Gardiner Gar butt, R.A.M.C., attd.
King's Own Scottish Borderers, killed in action in
Flanders, i December, aged 26 M.B., 'ii
L.-Corpl. Alexander Slorach, D (late U) Coy. 4th Gordon
Hrs., accidentally killed in the trenches near Hooge,
Flanders, 25 December, aged 21 2nd Arts
Christian Davidson Maitland or Grant, sank with her
husband on the "Persia," torpedoed 30 December,
aged 29 B.Sc, '08 ; M.B. (Edin.)
Surgeon (Tempy.) Douglas Whimster Keiller Moody,
R.N., sank with H.M.S. ''Natal" in harbour, 30
December, aged 42 M.B., '00 ; M.D.
1916.
Lieut. William George Rae Smith, loth King's Own York-
shire Light Infantry, attd. 21st Divisional Cyclists,
killed in action while saving a wounded comrade, 24
January Former Agr. Stud.
Lieut. George Dewar,R. A.M. C, killed in action in Flanders,
January, aged 23 M.B., '15
Lieut Richard Gavin Brown, R.A.M.C., died in 5th S.
Gen. Hosp. (after operation following on dysentery
contracted in Gallipoli, 14th Cas. CI. Stn., nth Div.
Suvla Bay), 14 February, aged 33 M.B., '03
Lieut. Charles Thomas Mc William, 5th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action in France, 19 March, aged 26 M.A., '13
In Memoriam 7
Captain (Tempy.) George Mitchell Johnston, attd. 7th
Royal Irish Rifles, killed in action in France, 3 April,
aged 26 B.Sc. (Agr.), 'II
Lieut. James Duguid, 7th N. Staffordshire Regt., killed in
action, Mesopotamia, 9 April Former Agr. Stud.
Private David George Melrose Watt, R.A.M.C., died at
Aldershot, 26 April, aged 19 ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Fleet-Surg. William Rudolf Center, died from injuries sus-
tained on the sinking of H.M.S. " Russell," 28 April,
aged about 45 Former Med. Stud.
Deputy-Surg. General Cyril James Mansfield, died at Gos-
port, 7 May, aged 55 M.B., '83 ; M.D., '96
Qr. M.-Sergt. Charles McGregor, loth Gordon Hrs., died
of wounds in France, 14 May, aged 43
M.A., 1st Hons. Maths., '96
2nd Lieut. Robert Reid, 9th Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in France, 21 May, aged 23 M.A., Hons. Class., '14
Corpl. Norman John Robertson, 4th Gordon Hrs., died of
wounds in France, 30 May, aged 26 M.A., '14
2nd Lieut. Frank Lipp, Scottish Rifles, attd. Welsh
Fusiliers, died at Karachi, 30 May, of wounds received
in Mesopotamia, aged 24 M.A., '11
Coy.-Sergt-Major Charles Neilson, Gordon Hrs., killed
in action in France, i June, aged 26 Teacher ; M.A., ' 1 3
Private George Alexander Brown, Machine Gun Section,
4th Gordon Hrs., killed in action in France, 9 June,
aged 19 7th Arts Bursar, '14
Sergt. Robert Donald, Intelligence Section, 4th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action in France, 9 June, aged 21 ist Arts
Lieut. Alfred George Morris, Gordon Hrs., died of wounds
received in action, 10 June, aged 21 Agr. Stud., '11
2nd Lieut. James Smith Hastings, 4th Gordon Hrs., died
at Ripon, 25 June, aged 26 M.A., '12
Corpl. John Bowie, Special Brigade, R.E., died of gas-
poisoning in France, 27 June, aged 21 1st Arts & Sci.
Corpl. George Dawson, Special Brigade, R.E., killed in
action in France, 28 June, aged 33
M.A., ist Hons. Maths., '05 ; B.Sc. (Spec, dist.)
8 In Memoriam
Pioneer James Roderick Watt, Special (Gas) Section, R.E.
(previously U Coy. 4th Gordons), killed in action at
Carnoy, France, 30 June, aged 22 1st Med.
Private William Abernethy, Special (Gas) Section, R.E.,
wounded in action in France, 29, died 30, June, aged 23 ist Sci.
Lieut. Robert Mackie Riddel, Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in France, i July, aged 24 2nd Arts
2nd Lieut. George McCurrach, 13th Highl. Light Infantry,
killed in action in France, i July, aged 35 Teacher; M.A., '08
2nd Lieut. William Adrian Davidson, 2nd Gordon Hrs.,
wounded at Loos, 25 September 191 5, died of
wounds received in action, 2 July, aged 21 I st Med.
2nd Lieut. Frederick Attenborow Conner, 2nd Seaforth
Hrs., killed in action in France, 2 July, aged 21 ist Agr.
Alfred Reginald MacRae, Punjab Police Force, India,
died of cholera on service at Nasiryeh, Mesopotamia
2nd Lieut. John McRobb Hall, 21st Northumb. Fusiliers,
killed in action in France, July, aged 20 About to matriculate
2nd Lieut. John Mortimer McBain, Special Reserve
R.F.A., died of wounds in German Fd. Hosp., Vrau-
court, 9 July, aged 22 2nd Arts, '14-'! 5
2nd Lieut. Colin MacKenzie Selbie, nth Scottish Rifles
killed in action in Picardy, 1 5 July, aged 27 B.Sc, '10 (spec, dist.)
Lieut. Colonel Arthur Hugh Lister, C.M.G., R.A.M.C. (T.),
died at sea, 17 July, aged 52 B.A. (Cantab.), M.B., '95
Sergt. Andrew Fraser, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in Picardy, 22 July, aged 28 U.F.C. Div. Stud. ; M.A., '10
Lance-Sergt. Alexander J. Gunn, D (late U) Coy. 4th
Gordon Hrs., wounded 25 September, 191 5, missing
after action in Picardy, 23 July, presumed killed on
that date, aged 22 ist Med.
Private Leslie Fyfe, Gordon Hrs., killed in action in France,
23 July, aged 23 Stud., '11 -'12
Capt. Henry Brian Brooke, Gordon Hrs., died of wounds,
July, in Picardy, on 24 July, aged 27 Agr. Student, '06-' 07
2nd Lieut. (Tempy.) Alexander Lundie Hunter Ferguson,
nth, attd. 8th Gordon Hrs., killed in action in
Picardy, July, aged 21 Arts, 'l2-'i3
Sergt. John Alexander McCombie, 4th Gordon Hrs., died
of wounds in Picardy, 26 July, aged 21 ist Med.
In Memoriam 9
Corpl. Charles James Donald Simpson Gordon, D (late U)
Coy. 4th Gordons, missing after action on the Somme,
28 July, presumed killed on that date, aged 21 1st Med.
Capt. (Tempy.) Robert Lyon, 5th Gordon Hrs., killed in
action in Picardy, 30 July, aged 25
M.A., Hons. Ecoa, '12 ; LL.B., '14
Capt. John Alexander Kennedy, 6th Seaforth Hrs., died
of wounds received in action in Picardy, 6 August,
aged 37 Teacher; M.A., Hons. Maths., '02 ; B.Sc.
Capt. A. W. Robertson, Royal Berkshires (formerly Col.
commanding 3rd Vol. Batt. Gordon Hrs., and with
2nd Gordons, Boer War ; Queen's Medal, 3 clasps),
killed in action in France, August Stud. Aberd. and Edin.
Private Malcolm Robert Bain, 6th Seaforth Hrs., killed
in action in Picardy, August, aged 19 i6th Arts Bursar, '15
Lieut. William Urquhart, Black Watch, killed in action in
Picardy, 16 August, aged 32
C of S. Minister; M.A., Hons. Phil., '06; B.D., '09
Private Gilbert Alexander Pirie, 4th Cameron Hrs. killed
in action in Picardy, 18 August, aged 22 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Capt. George Harper McDonald, 12th, attd. 2nd Gordon
Hrs., wounded i July, killed in action in Picardy,
6 September, aged 30 Teacher ; M.A., '08
2nd Lieut Alexander Francis Johnston, nth London,
attd. 1st Queen's Westminsters, killed in action,
10 September, aged 31 Teacher; M.A., '07
2nd Lieut. John Alexander King, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action in Picardy, 12 September, aged 32
Teacher ; M.A., Hons. Class., '09
Capt. Robert S. Kilgour Thom Catto, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action in Picardy, 5 October, aged 43 Stud., '91 -'92
2nd Lieut. Edward Martin Cook Tennant, 4th Gordon
Hrs., wounded 25 September, 191 5, died of wounds re-
ceived 16 October, aged 21 1st Sci.
Surgeon Probationer Alexander Ledingham Strachan,
R.N.V.R., sank with H.M.S. ''Genista," 23 October,
aged 21 3rd Med., 'i5-'i6
2nd Lieut. Donald Eraser Jenkins, M.C., 6th Seaforth
Hrs., killed in action in. Picardy, 13 November, aged
19 1st Agr.. 'I4-'I5
lo In Memoriam
Capt. William Murison Smith Merson, 7th Gordon Hrs.,
killed in action in Picardy, 13 November, aged 24
M.A., '13; LL.B., '14
Capt. William Stephen, 5th Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in Picardy, 13 November, aged 34 Merchant ; M.A., '03
2nd Lieut. John Alexander Wilson, Gordon Hrs., T.F.,
killed in action in Picardy, 1 3 November, aged 26
Teacher; M.A., '13
2nd Lieut. Robert James Smith, 6th Seaforth Hrs., killed
in action in Picardy, while rescuing wounded com-
rade, 13 November, aged 27. Recommended for
V.C Former Agr. Stud., N.D.A.
Lieut. James Lyall, Gordon Hrs., killed in action in
Picardy, November, aged 29 Teacher; M.A., '10
Sergt. Norman Birss, 7th Gordon Hrs., killed in action in
Picardy, 13 November, aged 23 2nd Arts, 'i3-'i4
Capt. Henry Begg, 1st Highland Fd. Amb., R.A.M.C,
killed in action, 14 November, aged 36 M.B., '06
Capt. (Tempy. Major) James Brown Gillies, 4th Gordon
Hrs., died of wounds received in action, 14 November,
aged 31 Stud., '04-'o5 ; B.L., '08
Rev. William A. Macleod, V.M.C.A. Service, Medit
Exped. Force, died of dysentery at Salonika, 16
November, aged 36 Former Arts and Div. Stud.
2nd Lieut. Norman Crichton, 5th Seaforth Hrs., killed in
action in Picardy, November, aged 29
U.F.C. Prob. ; M.A., '11
2nd Lieut. John Watt Simpson, 7th Border Regt., acci-
dentally killed by premature shell explosion, 8 De-
cember, aged 28 M.A., '09; LL.B.
Major William Russell, S. Afr. Exped. Force, trsf
Tempy. Capt. R.A.M.C, died at Kimberley, after
resuming practise, 10 December, aged 45 M.B., '90; M.D.
Private Richard Surtees, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in Picardy, 16 December, aged 24 M.A., '14
Private James Kirton Collie, Gordon Hrs., killed in action
in Picardy, 16 December, aged 23 M.A., '16
Private Andrew James Baxter Taylor, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
Signal Section, died 28, of wounds received in action
26, December, Picardy, aged 21 3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6; M.A., '17
In Memoriam 1 1
1917.
2nd Lieut. Edgar George William Bisset, Gordon Hrs.
and R.F.C., died 7 January of wounds received in
Picardy, aged 20 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Private William Mitchell Reid, S. Afr. Force in E. Africa
(through S.W. Afr. Campaign), died of wounds, Janu-
ary, aged 28 Teacher; M.A., '09
Corpl. Jack Galloway, Tasmanian Contingent, died in a
Military Hosp., Salisbury, 17 January, aged 35 Former Stud.
Lance-Corpl. Alex. Robertson Home, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
died in Military Hosp., Northampton, 25 January,
of wounds received in action, aged 29 Teacher ; M.A., '09^
Seaman John Winchester Cowie, Hawke Batt, R.N.D.,
wounded on the Ancre, November, 19 16, killed in
action, January, aged 26 Arts Stud., 'ii-'i5
Capt. Joseph Ellis Milne, D.S.O., R.AM.C, killed in
action on the Somme, 22 February, aged 48 M.A., '88 ; M.D.
Lieut. Hector Robert Macdonald, Seaforth Hrs., killed in
action in Mesopotamia, 22 February, aged 22 2nd Arts.
2nd Lieut. William George Reid, 3rd Scottish Rifles, killed
in action in March, aged 28 M.A. ; ist Class Hons. Class., '11
2nd Lieut. Ian Forbes Clark Badenoch, 20th Royal
Fusiliers (3rd Public Schools Batt), died of wounds
in France, 19 March, aged 20 Arts Bursar, '15
2nd Lieut. John Moir Sim, 6th Gordon Hrs., and R.F.C.
(previously U Coy. 4th Gordons), wounded twice, 25
September, 191 5, and 30 July, 191 6, and killed in
action in the air, 25 March, aged 23 ist Arts
Private Robert Mackie Simpson, 4th Gordon Hrs., killed
by bursting of a shell, i April, aged 21 1st Arts, 'i4-'l5
Lieut, (the Rev.) John S pence Grant, M.C., 6th Gordon
Hrs., killed in action in France, April, aged 27
Prob. C. ofS. ; M.A., 'ii; B.D.
Corpl. (Tempy.) John MacCulloch, 5th Gordon Hrs., killed
in action in France, 9 April, aged 31
Teacher; M.A. ; ist Class Hons. Class, '09.
2nd Lieut. George Reid, Gordon Hrs. (previously U Coy.
4th Gordons), killed in action in France, April, aged 25 2nd Med.
12 In Memoriam
2nd Lieut. William Bruce Anderson, M.C., "Jth Gordon
Hrs., killed in action in France, April, aged 29 M.A., '11
Lieut. James Rae, R.A.M.C., missing and believed to
have been drowned at sea, 1 5 April, aged 37 M. A., '04 ; M.D.
Capt. Robert Ferguson Russell, R.A.M.C., died on service
in France, 22 April, aged 33 M.B., '05
2nd Lieut. John Dean Riddel, Gordon Hrs., died of
wounds received in action, April, aged 24
2nd Arts and Med., 'i5-'i6
Captain William S. Pirie, D.C.M., Royal Scots Fusiliers
(previously Sergt. promoted on the field), killed in
action in France, 23 April, aged 29
Teacher ; Arts Stud., 'o5-'o7
Lieut. Simon Fraser Ross, Gordon Hrs. T.F., killed in
action in France, 23 April, aged 30
Div. Stud. ; M.A., Hons. Classics, '11
2nd Lieut. William David Macbeth, Black Watch, killed
in action in France, 23 April, aged 32 Teacher; M.A., '09
Capt. Leopold Profeit, The King's (Shropshire) Light
Infantry, killed in action in France, 25 April, aged 30
Actor ; M. A., '96
Lieut. Edgar Hunter Ewen, Royal Scots T.F., accidentally
killed at Catterick, May, aged 36 Teacher ; M.A., '04
Capt. John Ogilvie Taylor, The Buffs, trsfd. Middlesex
Regt., killed in action in France, 3 May, aged 32
Teacher; M.A., '10
Lieut, (the Rev.) Marshall Merson, 5th Royal Scots
Fusiliers (Pte. 4th Gordons), killed in action in France,
3 May, 1917, aged 27 C. of S. Prob. ; M.A., '12
2nd Lieut. James Alex. Masson, R.G.A., died of wounds
received in action, May, aged 25
Teacher; M.A., ist Hons. Class, '13
2nd Lieut. Williejohn Oberlin Gilmour, Scottish Horse,
killed in action. May, aged 33 M.A., '11
Lance-Corpl. Henry Wilkieson Thomson, Canadian Con-
tingent, wounded October, 191 6, killed in action in
France, 5 May, aged 31 M.A., Hons. Class, '07
2nd Lieut. Edwin Alfred Kennedy, Seaforth Hrs., killed
in action in France, 13 May, aged 22 ist Arts, 'l4-'i5
In Memoriam
13
Capt. William Alexr. Smith, R.A.M.C., died of wounds
received in action, June, aged 37 M.B., '04
2nd Lieut. William Anderson, 2nd Lovat Scouts, killed
in action, 4 June, aged 24 Un. Dip. Ag., '12
Capt. Robert Dunlop Smith, 33rd Punjabis Indian Army,
Brigade Machine Gun Officer, Indian Expeditionary
Force E, killed in action in East Africa, 12 June,
aged 24 Arts Stud., '11-12
MISSING.
Lieut. James Scott, 6th Gordon Hrs., since 25 September,
191 5 M.A., '13
Lieut. Arthur Frederick Vere Stephenson, 4th Gordon
Hrs., since 23 July, 191 6 Stud. 'o8-'o9
2nd Lieut. Walter Inkster, 4th Gordon Hrs., since 25 Sep-
tember, 191 5 M.A., '11 ; B.Sc. Agr.
Coy.-Sergt-Major Robert Falconer, 4th Gordon Hrs., since
23rd July, 191 6 2nd Law
Private Wm. Duncan Alexander, 4th Gordon Hrs., since
25 September, 191 5 2nd Med.
Private George Kemp Saunders, 4th Gordon Hrs., since
25 September, 1915 ist Med.
I. THE STAFF.
THE CHANCELLOR.
His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., G.C.V.O., C.B.
(mil.), Hon. Col. (late Col. Commdg.) 3rd Batt. Royal Sussex
Regt., A.D.C. to the King, Lord Lieutenant of Elgin and Banff,
and President, Territorial Force Associations.
MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY COURT.
William A. Stewart, City Treasurer, Member of City of Aberdeen
Tribunal.
MEMBERS OF THE TEACHING STAFF.
Professor James Black Baillie, D.Phil., on service with the Admiralty,
Whitehall.
Professor Henry Cowan, M.A., D.D., D.Th., D.C.L., part-time service
1st Scot. Gen. Hosp.
Professor Hector Munro Macdonald, M.A., F.R.S., on service with the
Munitions Department.
George Duncan, Lecturer on International Law, Military Repre-
sentative, Aberdeen City Tribunal.
MILITARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
The Principal, Chairman (Chaplain (ist Class) of the University
Contingent O.T.C.), Sir John Fleming, M.P., D.L., LL.D., Colonel
Scott Riddell, M.V.O., T.D., M.B., CM., and Rev. James Smith,
T.D.,M. A., B.D., Chaplain (ist Class), representing the Court ; Pro-
fessors James W. H. Trail, M.D., F.R.S., Robert W. Reid, M.D.,
F.R.C.S., Hector M. Macdonald, M.A., F.R.S., and Theodore
Shennan, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., Dean of the Faculty of Medicine ;
with Captain George A. Williamson, M.D., and Capt. John P.
Kinloch, M.D.
14
The Staff 15
SECRETARY'S OFFICE.
Alexander Smith Kemp. In Munition Factory, Aberdeen.
George R. Stephen, gunner, 53rd Res. Battery, R.F.A.
UNIVERSITY SERVANTS.
Charles G. Paterson, attendant, Anatomy, Private, 4th Gordon Hrs.
Alex. S. Taylor, technical assistant, Laboratories of Physiology and
Bio-Chemistry.
II. GRADUATES.
GRADUATES HOLDING COMMISSIONS
ROYAL NAVY.
Surg. George Allan, Sydney, N.S.W. M.B., '88 ; M.D.
„ (Tempy.) William Francis Whitaker Betenson, R.N. Hosp.,
Gosport (Sergt. O.T.C.) M.B., '17
„ (Tempy.) George Paterson Burr, H.M.S. " Monitor
31," Egypt M.B., 'II
,, (Tempy.) Arthur Percy Spark (formerly Corpl. U
Coy. 4th Gordons, and 2nd Lieut. 7th Gordons) M.B., '17
Surgeon Probationer.
Alex. Gavin Morison M.A., '14; 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Sub-Lieut. Robert Selbie Clark M.A., '08 ; B.Sc.
Naval Instructor,
Allan James Low, H.M.S. "Shannon" M.A., '14
WAR OFFICE AND OTHER STAFFS
Tempy. Maj. Francis Grant Ogilvie, C.B., while employed
as Assistant Director, War Office ; brought to notice
of Secretary for War for valuable services rendered
in connection with the War
M.A., '79; B.Sc, and LLD. (Edin.)
Capt. Alex. Forbes Grant, Financial Adviser's Staff, H.Q.,
I.G.C., B.E.F., France
Head Master, Cradock, S. Afr. ; M.A., '87
16
Regular Army 17
Hector Munro Macdonald, on service in Dept. of Muni-
tions Professor of Mathematics ; M. A., '86 ; F.R.S.
Wm. Campbell Anderson, Member Medical Board,
Western Command M.B., '03 ; B.Sc, M.D.
REGULAR ARMY.
Royal Artillery.
2nd Lieut. James Alexander Bowie, R.G.A. (previously
Gunner) M.A., '14
„ „ Ernest Duncan Craig, 24 Ammunition Sub.
Park Teacher; M.A., '11
„ „ Robert Younger Hunter, 202 H.B., R.G.A.
(from Artists' Rifles, p. 31) M.A., '11 ; LL.B.
f„ „ James Alexr. Masson, R.G.A. (formerly bom-
bardier, R.F.A.), died of wounds. May, '17,
aged 25 Teacher; M.A., '13
„ ,, George Rae, R.G.A. (previously Gunner) B.Sc, '06
„ ,, George Kenneth Sutherland, 269 S. Battery
M.A., '09; D.Sc, '16
Infantry.
fCapt. John Ogilvie Taylor, The Buffs, attd. Middlesex
Regt., killed in action in France, 3 May, 1 91 7, aged •,
32 Teacher; M.A., '10
Lieut. John Peters Thomson, Res. Batt. Cameron Hrs.
Teacher ; M. A., '08
2nd Lieut, (the Rev.) William Robertson Brown, Royal
Scots Fusiliers (now Chaplain, p. 25) M.A., '04
» » Cyril Martin Hadden, Royal Scots Fusiliers
M.A., '02 ; B.L.
? „ „ Alex. Simpson Harper, Black Watch (L.-Corpl.,
Gordons) M.A., 'ii
Peter Kemp, Gordon Hrs. Div. Stud. ; M.A., '09
Robert Strachan Knox, S.R.O., Gordon Hrs. M.A., '10
Bertram Mitchell Laing, Black Watch (Pte. 3rd
Gordons) M.A., 'ii
f 2nd Lieut. Wm. Geo. Reid, 3rd Scottish Rifles, killed in
action, March, '17, aged 28 M.A., '11
2
1 8 Graduates
f 2nd Lieut. John Watt Simpson, 7th Border Regt., acci-
dentally killed by premature bursting of
shell at bombing base, France, 8 Dec, '16,
aged 28 M.A., '09 ; LL.B.
f „ „ (Rev.) William Urquhart, Black Watch, C.S.
Minister, Kinloch Rannoch, killed in action
in Picardy, 16 Aug. '16, aged 32 M.A., '06; B.D
Royal Machine Gun Corps.
Lieut. Edward George Bruce, Heavy Branch (** Tanks ")
(Sergt., R.A.M.C.) M.A., '14
Royal Plying Corps.
2nd Lieut. James Drummond Smith, Administrative
Dept. M.A, '11
Royal Army Medical Corps.
To be Lieuts, with rank of Temporary Captains,
Gavin Alex. Elmslie Argo M.B., '13
Alex. Lindsay Aymer M.B., '13
Hamish Douglas Ferguson Brand M.B., '13
Douglas Gordon Cheyne M.B., '10; M.D.
Rudolf Wm. Galloway, M.C. M.B., '14
Robert Boulton Myles M.B., '15
Alex. Lawrence Robb M.B., '13
These seven have been entered on preceding lists as Temporary
or S.R. Officers in the R.A.M.C
R.A.M,C. Temporary Lieut. -Colonel.
Lt. Col. Herbert John Hargrave, Suffolk Rifles, T.F. M.B., '85
R.A.M.C. Temporary Majors.
John Baker (Honorary), Crowthorne War Hosp.
Frank Lang Collie
R.A.M.C. Temporary Captains.
Robert Moir Lechmere Anderson
Robert Milne Beaton
M.B.,
'83 ; M.D.
M.B.,
'86 ; M.D.
M.B., '10
M.B., '83
Commissions R.A.M.C. 19
Hugh Stewart Brander, Registrar and Surgeon War Hosp. ,
Keighley M.A., '99; M.B., '03; M.D.
James George Copland M.B., '02
Norman Davidson M.B., '99
John Findlay M.B., '01
John Aldington Gibb, relinq. comm. M.B., '95
Alex. Gibb Glass M.A., '99; M.D., Edin.
Andrew Baton Gray M.B., '12
Herbert Hargreaves M.A., '09 ; M.B.
Alfred James Ireland, 39th Brig., 13th Div., Mesop. Exp.
Force (from S.A.M.C., p. 27) M.B., '14
? James Miller M.B., '91
James Murray Mitchell, attd. Northd. Fusiliers, wounded
Sept '16 B.Sc, M.B., '07 ; M.D.
Eric Newton, Egypt, and E. Africa M.B., '15
Ian Ogilvie M.B., '08
Alistair Gordon Peter, M.C., mentd. disp., Jan. '17 M.B., '98
fWilliam Russell, M.C. (from S.A.M.C.), died 1916 M.B.,'90 ; M.D.,'96
Lindley Moarcroft Scott M.B., '86 ; M.D.,
fWilliam Alex. Smith, died of wounds received in action,
June, 1 91 7
M.B., '04
Frederick George Stuart, 49th Gen. Hosp.
M.B., '13
Charles Claud Twort
M.B.,
'09; M.D.
R.A.M.C. Temporary Lieutenants.
George Adam
M.A.,
'99; M.B.
James Milner Adams
M.B.
; M.A., '00
Crichton Alison
M.B.,'15
William Stephen Angus
M.B., '08
Alexander Andrew Bisset
M.B.,
'08 ; M.D.
Hardress Brayshaw
M.B., '10
James Broomhead, relinq. commn. Nov. *i6.
M.B., '93
Robert Brown
M.B.,
'05; M.D.
Robert Walker Brown
M.B., '13
? James Campbell
M.B., '01
George Chalmers
M.B., '96
Clifford Cuthbert Chance (formerly Tempy. Surgeon,
R.N.)
M.B., 'II
Thomas Clapperton
M.B., '07
Jas. Alex. Macdonald Clark
M.B., '07
Riley Cunliffe
M.B., '92
20 Graduates
Archibald Dingwall M.A., '84 ; M.D.
James Donaldson M.B., '07
Alfred Duguid M.B., '12
Ernest Paul Duncan, Mesopotamia M.B., 'ii
Robert James Duthie, attd. 58th Division, B.E.F., France M.B., '06
Robert William Eddie M.B., '09
John George Elder M.B., '12
Harry Willmott Elwell M.B., '02
Alexander Falconer M.B., '95
George Greig Farquhar M.B., '00 ; F.R.C.S.
Alexander Fraser M.B., '92 ; M.D.
Alex. Penrose Forbes Gammack M.B., '89
Charles Butchart Gerrard M.B., '05
Adam Gilchrist M.B., '08
Arthur Norman Haig, relinq. commn. Nov. '16 M.A., '95 ; 'M.B.
Alfred William Hare M.B., '97
Alfred Paul Hart (Lt.-Col., retired), mentd. disp. Jan. '17 M.B., '79
George Forbes Hunter M.B., '08
James Hunter M.B., '07
Thomas Christie Innes M.B., '04
Henry William Jeans, Blackpool M.B., '04
John Jenkins M.A., '00 ; M.B.
James George Johnstone M.B., '13
Edward Dawson Keane, 38th Motor Amb. Convoy M.B., '01
Benjamin Knowles, attd. i6th Middlesex (Corpl. King
Edward's Horse) M.B., '07
Alexander Walker Laing, 29th Fd. Amb. B.E.F., France
M.B., '05 ; D.P.H. (Manch.)
? James Laing M.A., '03 ; M.B.
?John Wm. Lindsay M.B., '95
James Brown MacAllan ' M.B., '08
John Alexander Mackenzie M.A., '99 ; M.B.
Robert John MacKessack M.A., '99 ; M.D., Edin.
Angus Mackintosh M.B., '11
Duncan Davidson Mackintosh M.B., '92
Allan John Macleod M.B., '10
Malcolm Macleod M.B., '02
Charles Grant MacMahon M.B., '04
William M'Quiban M.B., '01
Commissions R.A.M.C. 21
? Angus MacRae M.B., '09
George Alex. Mavor M.A., '94 ; M.B.
Frederic Crompton Merrall, Adj. Sheffield (Res.) Training
Centre, M.O. Troops in Hull and Grimbsy, and then
M.O. 3rd Manchester Regt. M.B., '13
William Linton Millar M.A., '02 ; M.B.
James Webster Miller M.B., '03
James Elmslie Mitchell M.B., '07
Charles Murray M.A., '96; M.D.
? William Alfred Murray B.A. (Cantab.); M.B., '90
Andrew McKay Niven, Garrison Duty, Egypt M.B., '07
Gavin Emslie Argo Petrie M.B., '06
Alfred James Pirie M.B., '07
Arthur William Rettie Pirie, in France M.B., '08
f James Rae, missing, believed drowned at sea, 1 5 April '16
M.A., '04; M.D.
James Raffan, relinq. commn. Nov. '16 M.B., '06; M.D.
Alexander Christie Reid M.A., '97 ; B.Sc, M.D.
Robert Watson Reid M.B., '01
? James Robertson M.A., '03 ; M.B.
Albert Nathaniel Ewing Rodgers M.B., '06
Alexander Munro Ross M.B., '01
David Ross, Blackpool Training Centre M.B., '94; M.D.
George Brebner Scott M.B., '96 ; M.D.
Robert Semple (from W. Afr. Med. Service) M.B., '10; M.D.
Charles Kelman Smith M.B., '10
Alexander Graham Stewart M.B., '07
Henry Wm. Martyn Strover, relinq. commn. Jan. '17 M.B., '00
Francis Wilson Stuart, South Midland Fd. Amb., B.E.F.,
France M.B.,'09; M.D.
Alexander Philip Thorn M.B., '83
William Alexander Watson M.B., '08
Thomas Duncan Webster M.B., '96
John Home Wilson, 37th Casualty Clearing Stn. M.B., '99; M.D.
Charles Melville Young M.B., '00
Called up under the new Medical Scheme.
John Shaw M.B., '12
James Silver M.B., '05
22 Graduates
R.A.M.C, Special Reserve Supplementary Officers.
Capt. Alexander Henderson Craig M.B., '
„ George Ewen, 83rd Fd. Amb., Salonika Army M.B., '
„ Andrew Fowler (L.-Corpl. O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ Alexander Johnstone (O.T.C.) M.A., '14 ; M.B., '
„ Gordon James Key (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ James Lawson, mentd. in disp., Jan. '17 M.A., '78 ; M.
,, Alistair Cameron Macdonald (Capt. Seaforths) M.A., '13 ; M.B., '
„ George Strathdee Mather (O.T.C), Lowland Fd.
Amb., 52nd Lowland Div. Egypt ; B.E.A. Exped.
Force M.B., '
„ Douglas Somerville Scott (Corpl. O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ William Duke Whamond (O.T.C.) M.B., '
Lieut. William Corner (U. Coy. 4th Gordons), Amara M.B., '
„ George Stewart Davidson (2nd Lieut. O.T.C.)
M.A., '14; M.B., '
„ Ian George Macdonald Firth. Shell Shock M.B., '
„ James Sutherland Balkwill Forbes (Sergt. O.T.C.)
M.A., '13; M.B, '
„ Richard Ramsay Garden (Sergt. O.T.C.) M.A.,'14; M.B.,'
„ Archibald Clive Irvine (O.T.C.) M.A., '13 ; M.B., '
„ George Smith Lawrence (O.T.C.) M.A., '10; M.B., '
„ Alex. Gow Lumsden (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ William Calthrope MacKinnon (2nd Lieut. O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ George Reid McRobert (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ George Strattam Martin (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ Charles Gordon Shaw Milne (Sergt. O.T.C.) M. A., '14; M.B., '
,, Andrew Henry Mitchell (2nd Lieut. O.T.C.) M.B., '
,, James Macdonald Morrison M.B., '
,, John Archibald Nicholson (O.T.C), Mesopotamia M.B., '
„ William Wyness Nicol (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ Alexander Keith Robb (O.T.C), Mesopotamia M.B., '
„ Frank Miller Rorie (O.T.C), 55th Field Amb. M.B., '
„ Charles Shearer M.A., '12; M.B., '
„ Robert John Smith M.B., '
„ Robert Thom (O.T.C.) M.B., '
„ Charles Tighe M.B., '
„ Thomas David Watt (Corpl. O.T.C) M.B., '
„ Vincent Thos. Borthwick Yule (O.T.C.) M.A., '12 ; M.B., '
Commissions T.F. 23
Hospital Service.
Miss Mabel Hector, Malta, Territorial Force M.B., 'ii
TERRITORIAL FORCE.
Cavalry,
\ 2nd Lieut. Williejohn Oberlin Gilmour, Scottish Horse
(previously Sergt.), killed in action, May, 1917 M.A., '11
Royal Artillery.
2nd Lieut. Alexander Wilson Anderson, No. 331 (S.)
Battery R.G.A. B.Sc, '13
Alexander Cardno Paterson M.A., '11
James Thomson Taylor, N. Scottish R.G.A.
(Sergt. R.G.A., p. 28) M.A., '15
Royal Engineers.
Capt Charles James Mackie M.A., '94
2nd Lieut John Grant, 15th Div. Salvage Coy., B.E.F.,
France M.A., '15
Infantry.
Lieut. -Col. George Haddon Bower (formerly O.C 7th
Gordons), now a Batt. Black Watch, mentd. in
dispatches M.A., '91
Lieut. Henry James Findlay, to unattd. list T.F. for service
with George Watson's Cont. O.T.C M.A., '97
f „ James Lyall, Gordon Hrs., killed in action,
Picardy, Nov. '16 Teacher; M.A., '10
I,, Alexander George Willox, Gordon Hrs., wounded
Sept. '16 Teacher; M.A., '10
2nd Lieut. James Knox Allan, Gordon Hrs. M.A., '14
„ „ Gavin Leith Allardyce, Gordon Hrs. (Pte. R. A.)
W.S. Edin. ; M.A., '05
„ „ Spencer Stephen Fowlie, Seaforth Hrs. (Pte.,
Cdt.), wounded, May, 191 7 Teacher; M.A., '12
? „ „ Andrew Gordon, Gordon Hrs. (Corpl. and Cdt.) M.A., '13
„ „ Alexander Francis Johnston, iith London,
attd. 1st Queen's Westminsters (Cdt.) Teacher ; M.A., '07
„ „ Frederick William Lovie, Gordon Hrs.
(L. -Corpl.) Div. Stud.; M.A., '12
24 Graduates
f 2nd Lieut William David Macbeth, Black Watch, killed
in action, 23 April, '17 Teacher; M.A., '09
„ ,, Alexander Ritchie Doughty McKenzie, Gordon
Hrs. (previously in Training Batt, p. 29) M.A., '16
„ ,, Arthur Farquhar Murray, Gordon Hrs.
Teacher; M.A., '03
„ ,. Grigor Charles Allan Robertson, Seaforth Hrs.
(Corpl.) B.Sc. (Agr.), '13; M.A., '14
„ ,, Donald Stewart (Cameron Hrs.) M.A., '16
,, „ Chas. John Thom, Gordon Hrs. Teacher; M.A., '99
„ „ James Alex. Watson, Gordon Hrs. (formerly
Pte. Arg. and Suthd. Hrs.) Teacher; M.A., '12
William Weir, Gordon Hrs. (Pte.) M. A., 'i i ; B.Sc. Agr., '13
f„ „ John Alexander Wilson, Gordon Hrs. (Pte.),
killed in action, 13 Nov. '16, aged 26 Teacher ; M.A., '13
Territorial Force Reserve.
Lieut Alexander Emslie Smith, Jnr., Recr. Offr., Aberdeen
M.A., '85
„ Alexander John Ramsay Thain M.A., '84
Royal Army Medical Corps.
Lieut-Col. James Robertson, 2/ist Highl. Fd. Amb.
51st Div., B.E.F., France M.B., '04; M.D., Ch.M.
Capt Alexander Elmslie Campbell, Highl. Cas. CI. Stat
M.A., 'II ; M.B.,'14
„ James Clark, 3rd N. Gen. Hosp., Sheffield M.B., '04; M.D.
„ Joseph Hadfield, ist T.C.B. Cheshire Regt, M.O.,
Glossop, and Chief Recr. M.O., Glossop area M.B., '00
„ John Low, M.C., ist Fd. Ambul. 14 Div. Mesopotamia M.B., '99
„ James Williamson Tocher, M.C., 97th (County
Palatine) Fd Amb., 30 Div., B.E.F. M.B., 'i i
Lieut Robert James Clark, 3/1 st London Fd. Amb. M.B., '16
„ William Wilfred James Lawson, 3rd W. Riding
Fd. Amb. M.B., '04
Douglas Lyon, Highl. Fd. Amb. M.B., '16
„ George Thomson, 3/ist London Fd. Amb. M.B., '16
2nd Lieut James S. Anderson, to unattd. list T.F. for
service with Aberd. Univ. Cont, O.T.C. M.A., '15; Med. Stud.
Volunteers and Chaplains 25
Sanitary Service.
Capt. Henry DugUid, Egypt M.B., '09
VOLUNTEERS.
City of Aberdeen Volunteef Regiment.
Colonel Lachlan Mackinnon, O.C. Advocate; M.A., '75
Capt. (Tempy.) Walter Smith Cheyne, M.O. (Lt-Col.
T.F.) M.B., '76; M.D.
Lieut. James Thomson M.A., '09
County of Aberdeen Volunteer Regiment.
Tempy. Lieut. Wm. Reid Head Master; M.A., '84
James Cruickshank Head Master ; M.A., '88
,, ,, John Stuart Burns, relinqu. commn., on
joining the army, see p. 29. Teacher; M.A., '99
1st City of Edinburgh Volunteer Regiment.
2nd Lieut. John Morrison Caie M.A., '99; B.L. ; B.Sc. Agr.
County of London Volunteer Rifles.
Tempy. Lieut. James Mitchell Thom, 2/i2th Batt. M.A., '02 ; B.L.
Morayshire Volunteer Regiment.
Tempy. 2nd Lieut. James Davidson Cheyne Teacher; M.A., '89
ARMY CHAPLAINS' DEPARTMENT.
Rev. William Robertson Brown, 4th Class (see p. 17) M.A. '04
,, Henry Coulter, 4th Class, Tempy. 6th Royal Hrs.,
51st Div., B.E.F., France B.A. ; B.D., '12
„ Donald Macgregor Grant, 4th Class (Sapper R.E.,
p. 28) M.A., '01 ; B.D.
„ Joseph Johnston, 4th CI. mentd. in disp. M.A., '94
„ Christian Victor Aeneas MacEchern, Presb. Chapl.,
Malta M.A, '07
,, Norman Mackenzie, 4th Class, Auchterarder M.A., '94
26 Graduates
Rev. Alexander Irvine Pirie, 4th Class, Tempy. M.A, '02 ; B.D.
„ William Robert Stewart, 4th Class, Tempy. Sla-
mannan, Acting Chaplain to the Forces, 9th
Res. Infantry Brigade M.A, '91
„ Robert Harvey Strachan, 4th Class, Tempy. for
Cambridge Hospitals M.A., '93
INDIAN ARMY.
Lieut. William Gilbert Lyon Gilbert, Res. of Offrs., attd.
Q.V.O. Corps of Guides M.A, '13
2nd Lieut. John Hall Ritchie, Res. of Offrs., attd. 103rd
Maratha Light Infantry, Poona M.A., '12
„ „ William Duncan Vivian Slesser, Cav. Branch,
Res. of Offrs., Zhob Militia (Supt. Police,
previous Suppl., p. 19) M.A, '08
FORCES OF H.M. DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS.
Canadian Forces.
Lieut. George Wood, Canadian Field Artillery M.A,'io
British Honduras.
Lieut-Col. the Honourable James Cran, O.C. British
Honduras Territorial Force M.B., '95 ; M.D.
Uganda Medical Service.
Capt. John Henry Goodliffe, M.O. Uganda M.B., '94
West African Service.
Major George Keith Gifford M.B., '93 ; M.D.
Medical Offr. Cecil Vivian Moore Etienne Le Fanu, Gold
Coast M.B., '99
„ „ George Ernest Hugh Le Fanu, Gold Coast M.B., '01
„ Edward Wood Wood-Mason M.B., '98 ; M.D.
Lieut. William Slessor Simpson (formerly Staff-Sergt),
Engineer Detachment, Union Central Africa Cont.
M.A., '00 ; B.Sc.
Enlisted 27
East African.
Capt. James Mearns Macdonald, R.A.M.C. M.B., '06
? Alexander Frank Wallace M.B., '06 ; M.D.
South African.
Lieut. -Col. Alex. Herbert Mackenzie, O.C, ist Composite
Regt. M.A., '87
Major Robert Hepburn Welsh, S.A.M.C M.B., '91
Capt. Alfred Jas. Ireland, S.A.M.C. (see p. 19) M.B., '14
Capt John Rose, S.A.M.C. M.A., '98 ; M.B., '02
Medical Offr. Walter James Flett, Native Recruiting
Corps, Cape Province M.B., '01
Natal Volunteer Medical Corps.
Major Harry Edgecombe Fernandez, Durban M.B., '89
Cape Mounted Riflemen. '
Medical Offr. Frederick Hamilton Welsh M.B., '05
Australian Forces.
Capt. Thos. Craig Boyd, Austr. Army Med. Corps M.A., '04; M.D.
„ Joshua Law Kerr, Austr. Army Med. Corps M.B., '80 ; M.D.
Rev. Frank Milne M.A., '88 ; B.D.
New Zealand Forces.
Major Charles McBeath Dawson, N.Z. Med. Corps,
P.M.O. Samoan Exped. Force M.B., '92
Capt. John Stott Beedie, N.Z. Med. Corps B.Sc, '04 ; M.B.
„ Theodore Grant Gray, N.Z. Med. Corps M.B., '06
„ Albert Henderson, N.Z. Med. Corps M.A., '89; M.D.
„ James Alexander Macdonell, N.Z. Med. Corps M.B., '82 ; M.D.
GRADUATES ENLISTED OR RE-ENLISTED.
ROYAL NAVY.
Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve.
George Milne Gray, resumed studies M.A., '16; 2nd Med., '15-' 16
Charles Joiner M.A., '15 ; 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
28 Graduates
Yeomanry.
Sergt. John Rose, ist Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment B.Sc. (Agr.), 'ii
Royal Artillery.
Sergt. James Thomson Taylor, N.S. R.G. A. (now commd.,
p. 23) M.A, '15
Corpl. John Wright Duncan, R.G.A., in France M.A., '15
Corpl. Andrew James Aiken Falconer, 171 Siege Batty.
R.G.A. Teacher; M.A., '07
^264 Bombardier William Hendry, 2/2nd Coy. North
Scottish R.G. A., Broughty-Ferry Teacher; M.A., '00
Bombardier Robert Bain, B/s Res. Brig. R.F.A. (T.)
Teacher; M.A., '02
Alex. Keith Reid, A Batty. 351st Brig.
R.F.A. Teacher ; M.A., '08
12608 Gunner Edmund B. Boyd (Siege), R.G.A. 2 Coy. M.A., '16
Gunner (Rev.) Sam. Wood Cameron, R.G. A. Prob. C. ofS. ; M.A.,'ii
(Rev.) John Barclay Davie, R.G.A. Prob. C. of S. ; M.A., '12
2 1 842 1 Driver William C. Thom, C Sub-Section 53rd
Res. Batty. R.F.A. Div. Stud., M.A., '17
2 1 844 1 Driver Archibald Dey Wilson M.A., '15
Royal Engineers.
L.-Corpl. (Rev.) Colin Mackay Kerr
Ch. of S. Min., M.A., '03 ; B.Sc. ; B.D. ; Ph.D.
Pioneer Alfred Hamilton Burr, Chem. Section, released
from service with colours for munition work M.A., *ii ; B.Sc.
155000 Pioneer William Grant Thomson, W.D. Experi-
mental Ground Teacher; M.A., '11
108709 Pioneer Alex. Stuart Watt, Chem. Section M.
Coy. Lecturer; B.Sc, Agr., '13
199033 Sapper Donald MacGregor Grant, R.E. (Wire-
less) 1st Austr. Tunnelling Coy., B.E.F. (now Chap-
lain, p. 25) Ch. of S. Minister, M.A., '01 ; B.D.
Infantry.
Sergt. Charles David Sim, Gordon Hrs., wounded thrice
Teacher; M.A., '08
L.-Sergt. David Stuart Davidson, 42nd Res. Training
Batt Teacher ; M.A., '08
Enlisted 29
Corpl. Wm. Jas. Entwistle, 12th Scottish Rifles (Cam-
eronians) (previously Pte. R.F.A.) M.A., '16
L.-Corpl. John Stuart Burns, 3rd Gordon Hrs. Teacher; M.A., '99
f „ Alex. Robertson Home, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
died, 23 Jan. '17, of wounds received in
action, aged Teacher; M.A., '09
„ George Andrew Johnston, 84th T.R.B. (pre-
viously 29th Northumberland Fus. and Ross
Batty. H.M.B.) M.A., '12
„ Alex. R. D. McKenzie, nth Gordon Hrs.,
42nd T.R.B (now commd., p. 24) M.A., '16
„ Robert Pearson Masson, Mach. Gun Sect, ist
Gordon Hrs. then Cadet Batt. M. A., '06 ; LL.B.
„ Harry Edward Shand, 3rd London Rifle
Brigade; then D. Coy. 6th Officer Cadet
Battn., Oxford M.A., '13
141 26 L.-Corpl. Robt. Weir Wilson, 3rd Arg. and Suthd.
Hrs., invalided, Nov. '16 Teacher; M.A., 'oS
5165 Private Thomas Anderson, 4th Gordon Hrs.
Teacher; M.A., 'i2
5144 Private (Rev.) Alfred Saunders Barron, 4th Gor-
don Hrs. Asst. Minister; M.A, '12 ; B.D.
4849 Private Chas. Buchan, 4th Gordon Hrs. Div. Stud. ; M.A., '12
f Private James Kirton Collie, Gordon Hrs., killed in
action, 16 Dec. '16 M.A., '16
„ George Alex. Cameron, ist Cameron Hrs.
Teacher; M.A., '12
24636 Private Leslie Findlay, A Coy. 1st Royal Scots,
Salonika M.A., '15
Private Alex. Glennie, 3rd Gordon Hrs. M.A., '15
1236 Private John Gordon Gray, 4th Gordons, discharged
'14 on medical grounds Teacher; M.A., '14
Private Frederick Laing, nth Gordon Hrs. M.A., '12 ; B.Sc.
„ John Robbie McKenzie, 3rd Gordon Hrs., re-
turned to teaching Teacher; M.A., '09
John Mackintosh, 14th Scottish Rifles, B.E.F. M.A., '16
15837 Private John Henderson Mennie, Scots Guards
M.A., '00
30 Graduates
f Private Murdo Morrison Murray, 5th Cameron Hrs.,
killed in action near Loos, 25 Sept. '15, aged
30 M.A., '08
„ (Rev.) John Simpson Mutch, A Coy. 5th Cameron
Hrs. Probationer, Ch. of S. ; M.A, '13 ; B.D., '15
14050 Private Alex. Nicol, 4th, formerly 6th Gordon Hrs.,
invalided M.A., '15
Private James Wm. Olson, 5th Seaforth Hrs., invalided M.A., '15
317247 Private Francis James Skinner Paterson, 3rd
Gordon Hrs. M.A., '08
5284 Private Harry Thomson Reid, 4th Gordon Hrs.
Teacher ; M.A., '03
Private Francis McD. Robertson, Gordon Hrs. Teacher; M.A., '06
12561 Private John Jas. Roy, 6th Gordon Hrs., B.E.F. Tchr. ; M.A., '14
5187 Private John Scott, 4th Gordon Hrs. Teacher; M.A., '07
731 1 Private Harry Williamson Smart, 4th Seaforths
Teacher; M.A., '09
? Wm. Alex. Sutherland, 3rd Gordon Hrs. Teacher; M.A., '12
Private Patrick Walker, 3rd Cameron Hrs. M.A., '15
Army Service Corps.
L.-Corpl. Murdo Mackenzie, 243 Coy. Ripon Camps M.A., '15
Private Ernest Main, Motor Transport M -A,. 1 2
„ Norman John Jamieson Walker M.A., '05 ; LL.B.
R,AM.C,
Corpl. Donald Benjamin Gunn, Administrative Staff, ist
Scot Gen. Hosp. Teacher; M.A., '15
„ Gordon Gray Stewart, 4/ist Highl. Fd. Amb.
Teacher; M.A., '08
L. -Corpl. Edward George Morrison Murray, 3/ist Highl.
Fd. Amb. Teacher; M.A., '08
Private Herbert Alex. Darg Alexander, 42nd Gen. Hosp.,
Salonika M.A, '15
838 1 1 Private William John Booth, 42nd Gen. Hosp.,
Salonika Div. Stud ; M.A., '14
Private John Eraser, Aldershot Div. Stud. ; M.A., '14
2026 Private Wm. Grant, 4/1 st Highl. Fd. Amb. M.A., '15
Private Donald MacVicar, in France M.A., '16
Enlisted 3 1
Officers Training Corps.
Robert Cowan Colvin, R.F.A. Cadet Corps M.A., '14 ; B.Sc. Agr.
George Gardiner Dawson, Artists' Rifles O.T.C. M.A., '10; LL.B.
Robert Younger Hunter, Artists' Rifles O.T.C, p. 17 M. A., 'i i ; LL.B.
Thomas Hunter Donald, 2nd Artists' Rifles M. A, *02 ; B.Sc.
James Temple Jenkins, Inns of Court M.A., '04
Alex. Larg, Artists' Rifles O.T.C, i ith Officer Cadet Batt. M. A., '15
Units Unknown.
James Smith Barron Teacher; M.A., '14
Rev. William Dey Fyfe CS. Minister; M.A., Edin. ; B.D., '10
Rev. Alexander MacKenzie C S. Prob. ; M.A., '13
Alexander Smith, serving in France M.A., '16
Rev. John Younie C. S. Prob. ; M.A., '09
H.M. FORCES IN INDIA AND OVERSEAS DOMINIONS.
Sergt. David Gordon Smart, 30th Reinforcements, N.
Zealand Exped. Force B.L., '03
Corpl. Alex. Ogilvy Galloway, Austr. Imperial Force M.A., '07
fL.-Corpl. Henry Wilkieson Thomson, Canadian Con-
tingent, wounded Oct., 191 6, killed in action in
France, 5 May, 191 7, aged 31 M.A., '07
Trooper David Auchterlonie, E (Agra) Troop 2nd United
Prov. Horse M.A, '05
John Miller, Malay Estates Volunteer Rifles B.Sc. Agr., '16
f Private William Mitchell Reid, S. African Forces, R
Africa, severely wounded; died of wounds Teacher; M.A., '09
Trooper Adam Alex. Ritchie, Punjab Light Horse
Science Master, Aitchison College, Lahore; M.A., '12 ; B.Sc.
Gunner (Rev.) Wm. George Robertson, No. 4 Ahmeda-
bad Coy. Bombay Volunteer Artillery
Principal, Guzerat College; M.A., '94; B.D.
Angus Alex. Ross, Motor Patrol, Canada Teacher; M.A., '12
Y.M.C.A.
Rev. Wm. Milne Grant, United Free Ch., Drumoak M.A., '84
„ George Henderson, United Free Ch., Monzie M.A., 'y6\ B.D.
„ Donald MacDonald Probationer, Ch. of S. ; M.A., '13
3 2 Graduates
Rev. Alex. Hood Smith, Ch. of Scotland, Newmachar M.A., '88
„ George Tod Wright, Prob. Ch. of Scotland Dumfries
M.A., '13; B.D.
City of Aberdeen Volunteers.
John M. Barclay M.A., '94
Edward H. Hay MxA., '83
Patrick Murray M.A., '99
Edmund Sinclair M.A., '91
W. M'Queen Smith M.A., '90
Donaldson Rose Thorn M.A., '81
N on-Combatant Corps.
Private John Alex. Gunn M.A., '15
Private Alex. Guthrie Tulloch, 3rd Scottish Coy. N.C.C. M.A., '16
Attested, Not Yet Called Up.
James Brown, C HI M.A., '09
William Philip Wishart, C HI M.A., '09 ; B.D., '17
William Milne, B III M.A., '14
Charles H. Simpson, B HI M.A., '14
Ewen A. Cruickshank M.A., '14
John Falconer M.A., '14
Charles Thomson, B H M.A., '03 ; B.Sc.
John L. Robertson M.A., '07
Alex. Hastings, passed for garrison duty M.A., '13
BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY.
Corrections aud Additions to List in Last Supplement,
Col. John Scott Riddell, M.V.O., Member of Council and
of the War Executive of the Scottish Branch, Red
Cross Commissioner for the North-Eastern District
of Scotland and Consulting Surgeon to the Royal
Navy in the district from Montrose to Elgin M.A., '84 ; M.B.
Alex. Thomson Arthur, Murtle House Aux. Hosp., 40 M.B., *8o
Wm. Rt. Duguid, Portessie Hosp., Buckie, 30 M.A., '88 ; M.D.
Wm. Manson Fergusson, Banff, 30 M.B., '05 ; M.D.
Chas. Cormack Greig, Fyvie Cott. Hosp., 6, and Aux.
Hosp., 18 M.B., '73
Red Cross 33
Adam Hutton, Kinbroon Aux. Hosp., Rothienorman, 15 M.B., '07
George Mitchell, Drumrossie Hosp., Insch, 30, and Leith
Hall, Kennethmont, 25 M.B., '07
John Geddes Pirie, Cullen Hosp., 14 M.B., '96
Alex. Reid, Hedgefield, Aux. Hosp., Inverness, 24 M.B.,'94; M.D.
Thos. Alex. Sellar, Aberlour, Orphanage Hosp., 20, and
Fleming Hosp., 20 M.B., '80
George Baird Sleigh, Aboyne Castle Hosp., 100 M.A., '93 ; M.B.
Robert Alex. Slessor, Aux. Hosp., Fraserburgh, 10 M.A.,'97; M.B.
Charles Melvin Stephen, Mountstephen Hosp., Dufftown,
14 M.B., '12
James Taylor, Gordon Castle Aux. Hosp., Fochabers,
100, and Earlsmount Hosp., Keith, 36 M.B., '83 ; M.D.
James Walker Watson, Braemoriston Aux. Hosp., Elgin,
25 M.B., '90
John Osbert Wilson, Huntly Cott. Hosp., 22 M.A., '73 ; M.D.
Civil Surgeons.
Robert Gibson Davidson, Anaesthetist, Military Hosp.
Croydon M.B., '09
William Dunn, late Civil Surgeon M.B., '91
James Aberdein Milne, Resident M.O. King Edward VH.
Sanatorium, Midhurst M.B., '07
James Rae, Resident Surgeon, ist Birmingham War Hosp.
M.A., '04; M.D., B.Sc, '00
Henry Watson, Lakenham Mil. Hosp. M.B., '02
John Wishart, M.O., Elswick B.Sc, '00 ; D.Sc, M.D.
Munition Work.
William Milne Birse, Chemist in H.M. Factory M.A., '10 ; B.Sc.
Alfred Hamilton Burr, released from service with R.E.
(see p. 28) M.A., '11 ; B.Sc.
John Raitt, Chemist, H.M. Factory M.A., '13
Robert A. Morrison, H.M. Factory M.A.
Alexander Webster, Analytical Chemist under an Explo-
sives Coy» B.Sc, '17
III. ALUMNL
ALUMNI COMMISSIONED.
ROYAL NAVY.
Surg. (Tempy.) Halliday G. Sutherland Stud. Ab., M.D. Edin.
REGULAR ARMY.
Lieut. -Gen. George Francis Milne, C.B., D.S.O., mentd.
in disp. from Egypt, 191 6; Serbian Order of the
White Eagle (ist Class with Swords); commanding
British Forces at Salonika; Lieut. R.A. '85, Capt
'95, Maj. '00, Lt.-Col. '02, Col. '05, Maj.-Gen. '15;
Egyptian and S. Afr. Cairipaign Arts Stud., '81 -'83
Capt. James L. Hendry, R.AM.C.
LR.C.R and S. Edin., '15 ; Med. Stud. Aberd, '10-15
f ,, AW. Robertson, Royal Berkshires (Formerly Col.
commanding 3rd Vol. Batt. Gordon Hrs.), served
through Boer War with volunteers in 2nd Gordon
Hrs. ; Queen's Medal, 3 clasps ; killed in action in
France (?) Aug. '16
Lieut. (Tempy. Capt.) Robert James McKay, Argyll and
Sutherland Hrs. (Sergt.-Maj. R.AM.C., S. Afr.
Campaign, 2 medals and clasps and Medal for
Somali campaign), Military Cross ; wounded 1 8
Aug. '16, also D.S.O. loth Bursar ist Arts, at King's, '99-'oo
„ S. Hoyland, Special Reserve, R. AM.C. Med. Stud. ; L.R.C.P.S.
2nd Lieut. W. Lyne Watt, Royal Flying Corps Forest Stud., 'i i -'12
TERRITORIAL FORCE.
fCapt. William S. Pirie, D.C.M., Royal Scots Fusiliers,
previously Sergt T.F., mentd. in disp. and pro-
moted on the field, served at Gallipoli ; killed in
action, France, 23 April, '17 Teacher; Arts Stud., '05 -'07
34
Commissioned and Enlisted 35
Lieut. Charles William Duff, 5th Seaforth Hrs.
Stud Arts and Law, '81
2nd Lieut. John Underwood Nicol, 4th (Res.) Royal Scots
(Q.E.R.) Arts Stud, 'oi-'o4.
INDIAN ARMY.
2nd Lieut. F. W. Gerrard, 11 6th Mahrattas
Indian Police.
f Alfred Reginald MacRae, Punjab, died of cholera on
service at Nasiriyeh, Mesopotamia, '16
DOMINIONS OVER THE SEAS.
James Booth Clarkson (Civil Surg. S. Afr. Field Force
'01-02, Medal and 3 clasps; Capt. Natal Med.
Corps) Austr. Army Med. Corps (Res.) of Officers,
'15. Pub. Health Dept, Newcastle, N.S.W.
Stated in Med. Dir. to have studied at Aberdeen
University L.R.C.P. and S. Edin., '81
Robert Walker Gray, Senior M.O., W. Afr. Med. Staff
Arts and Med Stud, '84-'87 ; M.B., Edin., '92
Major Norman Henry Lawrence, S. Afr. Med. Corps,
Capetown Med Stud, '77-'8i ; L.R.C.P. and S. Edin., '81
ALUMNI ENLISTED.
ROYAL NAVY.
f Seaman John Winchester Cowie, R.N.D., Hawke Batt,
served at Gallipoli, wounded on the Ancre, Nov.
'16, killed in action Jan. '17 Arts Stud, '11 -'13
ARMY.
Artillery.
Gunner William Alexander Christie Carr, A. Batty., 6th
Res. Brig. R.F.A. (T.) Former Agr. Stud ; N.D.A., U.D.A.
Driver Francis Lee Stuart, Sign. Sect, 6th C. Res. Brig.
Teacher ; Arts. Stud., '04 -'08
36 Alumni
Infantry.
Sergt James Patrick George Smith, 15th Lanes. Fusiliers,
B.E.F., re-enlisted for i year Arts Stud, 'cxD-'oi
4934 L. Corpl. R. D. High, 3/4th Gordon Hrs.
Teacher ; Arts Stud, 'oo-'o3
5304 Private Robert Burgess, 3/4th Gordon Hrs. Teacher
f Private Leslie Fyfe, Gordon Hrs., killed in action in
France, 23 July, 1916, aged 23 Stud., 'ii-'i2
Private A W. Gordon, Cameron Hrs. (previously 3rd
Highl. Fd. Art, and Lovat Scouts) Arts, '06-' 10
„ John Leslie, 3rd Black Watch Arts, '99-'02
R.A.M.C.
Sergt. Alexander M. Donald, 102 Fd Amb. Teacher; Arts, '98-'oi
David Rae, discharged on Medical grounds after joining
colours U.D.A., '15
OVERSEAS FORCES.
f Corpl. Jack Galloway, Tasmanian Cont. Austr. Imp.
Force, died in the Military Hosp., Salisbury, 17
Jan., '17, aged 35 Former Student
Private Arthur Hallam Davidson, 4th Austr. Imp. Force,
Law Agent ; Arts Stud, '93-94
Y,M.C.A. Service.
t Rev. William A. Macleod, on service with the Y.M.C.A.
Medit. Exped. Force, died of dysentery at Salonika,
16 Nov., '16, aged 36
Probationer, C. of S. ; Arts and Div. Stud., '09-' 16
ADDITION TO Page 35.
County of Aberdeen Volunteer Regiment.
Tempy. Capt. Thomas Garland (late Major, 2nd Vol.
Battn. Gordon Hrs.) Alumnus
IV. STUDENTS.
STUDENTS HOLDING COMMISSIONS
{and Surgeon Probationers).
Surgeon Probationers.
? John Allan, H.M.S. *' Hilary " 2nd Med, 'i5-'i6
Duncan Wm. Mackay, returned to study 6th Med, *i4-'i5
Hugh Graeme Topping 3rd Med, 'i5-'i6
Royal Marine Light Infantry.
2nd Lieut. James David Maxwell Smith (Pte. U Coy. 4th
Gordons, and Cadet, Offr. Training Battn.) 1st Arts, 'l3-'i4
Royal Artillery {Tentpy. and S.R.O.).
Lieut. George Alex. Macdonald, Mobile Ant i- Aircraft,
R.G.A., B.E.F. 1st Med, '14-'! 5
2nd Lieut. Alex. Eric Bruce, R.G.A., France (from Ed.
Univ., O.TC.) 1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
2nd Lieut. Allan Macd. Clark, S.R.O., R.F.A. (see p. 40)
2nd Arts, '15-'! 6
„ ,, James Williams Gill, S.R.O., R.G.A (see
p. 40) 2nd Arts and Med, 'i5-'i6
„ „ John Lumsden, S.R.O., 24 Batty. 38th Brig.
R.F.A. (Cdt.) 3rd Arts, 2nd Med, 'i5-'i6
„ „ Henry Jas. M. Mutch, R.G.A. (Sergt. R.E.)
2nd Arts, '13-14
„ „ Lewis Stevens Robertson (O.T. C), 1 65th Brig.
R.F.A., wounded 26 May, 1917 2nd Med, 'i3-'i4
„ „ Alister Rose, R.G.A. (Sergt. R.E.) ist Sc. Agr., 'i3-'i4
Royal Engineers.
2nd Lieut. Hector Steedman Anderson ist Arts, '14-'! 5
Infantry.
f 2nd Lieut. Ian Forbes Clark Badenoch, 20th Royal
Fusiliers, formerly Private, Argyll & Suther-
land Hrs., died 19 March, '17, of wounds
received in action in France, aged 20 Arts Bursar, ' i 5
37
» ))
3 8 Students
and Lieut. Murray Young Garden, 8th-ioth Gordon Hrs.
(O.T.C.), returned to study 2nd Med, 'i4-'i5
James Stuart Hutchison, nth Gordon Hrs.
(L.-Corpl. Gordons, (p. 43), and O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i 5-'i6
Daniel Kerrin, King's Liverpool Regt (L.-
Corpl. 4th Gordon Hrs.) wounded near
Hooge, June, '15, severely, April, '17 ist Arts, ' 1 3-'i4
Harold J. Milne, S.R.O., attd. Gordon Hrs., ,
severely wounded, April, '17, France 2nd Law, 'i3-'i4
Alex. Morrison, ist Batt. H.L.I. ist Sci., 'i5-'i6
Wilson Henry Gordon Park, Gordon Hrs.
(see p. 45), (O.T.C.) 2nd Arts and Med., 'i5-'i6
„ ,, Arthur Leslie Scott, W. Yorks Labour Batt.
(Pte., p. 42) 1st Arts, 'i4-*i5
TERRITORIAL FORCE.
Yeomanry.
2nd Lieut. George Burnett, Scottish Horse (Pte. R.A.M.C.)
2nd Arts, 'i3-'i4
Royal Artillery.
2nd Lieut. John Keay, R.G.A. (Gunner and Cadet, p. 41)
3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6
„ „ Frederick W. Robertson, ist Highl. Brig.
R.F.A. 2nd Law, '13.' 1 4
Infantry.
t Lieut Hector Robert Macdonald, Seaforth Hrs., killed
in action in Mesopotamia, 22 Feb., '17, aged 22
2nd Arts, 'i3-'i4
2nd Lieut James Archibald, 7th Gordon Hrs. (Pte.) ist Med., 'i3-'i4
Alex. Cruden, Gordon Hrs. (Pte.) ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
Vivian Leslie Ferguson, 7th Gordon Hrs.
1st Med., 'i4-'i5
„ „ Stanley Forrest, Gordon Hrs. (Pte. and Cdt.)
1st Arts 'i3-'i4
„ „ Allan Hendry, Gordon Hrs., M.C. About to matriculate
„ „ Samuel Hoare, Cameron Hrs. (Cdt) 3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6
Commissioned and Enlisted 39
2nd Lieut. Oliver Lawrence, Gordon Hrs. (Pte. R.A.M.C.)
3rd Arts, 'i3-'i4
„ „ Wm. Marshall Ledingham, Gordon Hrs. (L.-
CorpL, U Coy.) ist Sci., 'i3-'i4
„ „ Duncan Tait Hutchison McLellan, Seaforth
Hrs. (Pte. U Coy. 4th Gordons ; Cdt.)
3rd Arts, 'i3-'i4; M.A., *i6-'i7
Tempy. 2nd Lieut. George Fowler Mitchell, unatt. list
for T.F. for service with Aberd. Univ. Cont. O.T.C.,
now Lieut. R.A.M.C. 5th Med., '16
2nd Lieut. William George Murray, Gordon Hrs. (Sergt.)
severely wounded, 9 April, '17, previously
invalided 1st Med, 'i3-'i4
f ,, „ George Reid, Gordon Hrs. (L.-Corpl. U Coy.
Gordons), killed in action in France, April,
'17, aged 25 2nd Med., 'i3-'i4
„ ,, Wm. Ledingham Rennie, Gordon Hrs. (Pte.)
1st Arts, 'I4-'I5
f„ „ John Dean Riddel, Gordon Hrs. (O.T.C.
Corpl. Gordons), died of wounds received in
action, 7 April, '17 2nd Arts and Med., '15-'! 6
Norman Keith Robson, Gordon Hrs. (Sergt.)
1st Arts, 'i3-'i4
„ Alexander Rule, Gordon Hrs. (Pte. U. Coy.
4th Gordons) ist Arts, 'i3-'i4
„ Norman Jas. Wilson, 4th Gordon Hrs. (Pte.) 1st Arts, ' 1 5-' 16
Wm. Cruickshank Winton, Gordon Hrs. (Pte.
and Cdt.) 2nd Arts, 'i3-'i4
Army Veterinary Corps.
Captain William Marshall, V.S. ist Sci., '14-'! 5
Indian Army.
2nd. Lieut. Gordon N. MacKintosh, 36th Sikhs ist Arts, 'i4-'i5
STUDENTS ENLISTED.
Royal Naval Reserve.
Hector M. Gunn, Seaman or Deck Hand, H.M. Motor
Launch, No. 417 2nd Arts, 'i 5-' 16 >
? John Macdonald (Sheshader, Lewis) 3rd Med., 'i4-'i5
>j >»
» )>
40 Students
John MacDonald (Ness, Lewis) 2nd Arts and Med., 'i5-'i6
Kenneth Norman Macdonald, Deck Hand, H.M.D.
"Arthur H. Johnson" (1025) 2nd Arts and Med., '15-16
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Robert Urquhart Gillan, Signal Recruit, C.Z. 8269 ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
James F. Rennie, Wireless Telegraphist on Aux. Patrol
Vessel 1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
Atixiliary Sick Berth Reserve Attendants.
Wm. S. Cochar ist Med., 'i5-'i6
George Brown 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
John Grant, H.M.H.S. '• Rewa " 2nd Med, '15-16
Roydhu R. W. MacLaren, H.M.H.S. ''Magic H " 2nd Med, '14-'! 5
? Roderick MacLeod (Stornoway) ist Med., '15-'! 6
Samuel Hawkridge Matheson, R.N. Hosp., Edin. 4th Med., '15-'! 6
Yeomanry.
L.-Corpl. John M. Abel, 2/2nd Scottish Horse,
Salonika 3 rd Arts, ' 1 4- ' 1 5
Private Eric R. Linklater, 2/1 st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
(O.T.C.) istMed, 'i6-'i7
Private Peter Salmon Syme, i Scottish Horse, attd. 13th
Black Watch, Salonika 3rd Sci., 'i3-'i4
Artillery.
Sergt Alex. J. MacLeod, Ross & Cromarty Mtn. Batty.
About to matriculate
Corpl. James Campbell Leslie, 157th Brig. R.F.A. ist Arts, 'i4-'i5
218403 Bombardier John Falconer, 35th Batty. R.P'.A.
2nd Arts, 'i6-'i7
Gunner Allan McD. Clark, A Batty. No. 5 Res. Brig.
R.G.A. ; now commd., p. 37 2nd Arts, 'i5-'i6
„ (Signaller) John Calder, R.G.A., France 1st Sci. Agr., 'i4-'l5
„ Douglas John Cormack, 17th Res. Batty. R.F.A.
Cadet, R.A. Cadet School 3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6
,, Nenion Elliot, *' B " Coy. Signalling School,
R.G.A. 1st Arts, '1 5-' 1 6
„ James Williams Gill, 240th Brig. R.F.A., from
Edin. Univ. O.T.C, now commd, p. 37.
2nd Arts and Med, 'i5-'i6
Enlisted 41
Gunner Francis McLeod Glennie, 2/2x16. N. Scot. R.G.A.
Lorimer Bursar, '17 ; About to matriculate
„ George Green, R.F.A., Salonika Forces ist Sci., 'i5-'i6
„ William Greenlaw (187762) A Batt. 5th Res.
Brig., R.F.A. (T.) ist Arts, 'i5-'l6
„ James Hutcheon, C Batty. 95th Brig. R.F.A. 2nd Med., 'i 5-'i6
„ John Keay, 126th Heavy Batty. R.G.A., Aug.-
Dec, '16; Cadet School, Jan. '17, now commd.,
p. 38 3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6
„ Matthew Hannah Logg, 6th B Res. Brig. R.F.A.
(O.T.C.) 2nd Med., '1 6-' 1 7
„ Alex. M. Macfarquhar, R.F.A. 2nd Sci., 'i6-'i7
Walter Johnston Ogilvie, 36th Res. Bty., R.F.A.
2nd Arts, 'i6-'i7
„ (Signaller) James Robertson, R.F.A., T.F., France
1st Arts, 'i4-'i5
,, Alfred Torrie, R.G.A., now commd., p. 47 ist Arts, '15-* 1 6
Robert S. Walker, R.GA. 1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
John C. Wilkie, Signal Depot, R.G.A 5th Arts, 'i4-'i5
„ James Youngson, B Batty. No. 5 Res. Brig.
R.F.A, (T.) 5th Arts Burs., '16
Royal Engineers.
158727 Corpl. Andrew Calder, 5th Sect. A Coy. ist
Special Batt. ist Sci. Agr., 'i5-'i6
Corpl. Everett G. Michelson, Gas Section (formerly
Corpl. Instr. 5th Royal Scots) 4th Med., 'i5-'i6
L. -Corpl. William M. Cattanach, 2/3rd Highl. Fd. Coy.
1st Law, 'i3-'i4
,, John Johnston, 2nd Highl. Fd. Coy. 2nd Sci., 'i4-'i5
„ Robert Milne, Dispatch Rider ist Sci. Agr., '14-15
Henry J. Dawson, Special Brigade 3rd Arts and Med., 'i5-'i6
Sapper Albert A. Diack 2nd Arts, 'i5-'i6
f William Abernethy, Gas Section, wounded in action
29, and died 30, June, '16 1st Sci., 'i3-*i4
Douglas Ross Dugan, Chem. Sect. ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Richard Ogilvie Girdwood 1st Med., ' 1 5-' 16
Murdo MacKenzie Gunn 1st Med., 'i5-'i6
42 Students
George Gordon Wallace Hay, Chem. Sect. 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
John Milne (O.T.C) ist Med, 'i5-'i6
Victor Edmond Milne, City of Aberd. A,T. Coy. ist Med., '15-16
Sapper Lewis Morrison, 2/ ist City of Aberd. A.T. Coy.
1st Sci., 'i5-'i6
155479 Pioneer Alex. C. Nicol, D Coy. ist Special Batt.
1st Sci., 'i5-'i6
Ian Robert Spark, City of Aberd AT. Coy. 2nd Med., 'i5-*i6
Alex. C. Stephen, Chem. Sect. 3rd Sci., '15-'! 6
Pioneer Hubert J. Stewart, Chem. Corps, ist Spec.
Batt. 3rd Sci., '1 4-' 1 5
Charles Mann Stuart, ist City of Aberd. A.T. Coy. ist Med, 'i 5-'i6
Pioneer John S. Taylor, Signals ist Med., 'i5-*i6
Moore Taylor, City of Aberd AT. Coy. ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Alex. Ross Wood 2nd Med, 'i5-'i6
INFANTRY.
Scots Guards.
Private George W. Marwick, L Coy. ist Sci. Agr., 'i4-'i5
Royal Scots.
46268 Private Norman Mclver, D Coy. 3rd Batt.
1st Sci. Agr., 'i3-'i4
Royal Scottish Fusiliers.
Private Francis Cameron (trsfd. from Gordons), on the
**Ivernia" when torpedoed 23rd Burs., '16
29138 Private Stephen Keenan, 6/7th Batt, and 5th En-
trenching Batt. 2nd Med. , ' 1 3 -' 1 4
King's Own Scottish Borderers.
L.-Corpl. John Davidson Bisset, Depot Works Coy.
3rd Batt. 2nd Arts, '15-16
Private Findlay MacLean 4th Med, 'i5-'i6
6th Black Watch.
6491 Private Ian J. Simpson ist Arts, 'i4-'i5
i2th (Labour) Black Watch.
Private Arthur Leslie Scott, now commd. (see p. 38) 2nd Arts, 'i 5-'i6
„ Theodosius Stewart 2nd Arts, 'i 5-' 16
Enlisted 43
Scottish Rifles.
1 93 1 4 L.-Corpl. James B. Smith, 3 Coy. 14th Batt
1st Arts and Sci., 'i4-'i5
2^th Middlesex Regiment.
Private James Alexander Rae, B Coy. ist Sci., 'i5-'i6
1st Gordon Highlanders.
1 1429 Private William R. Milne, D Coy. Signaller ist Arts, '15-16
2nd Gordon Highlanders.
43492 Private James R. Matheson, Hqrs. Scouts 5th Sci., 'i4-'i5
^rd Gordon Highlanders.
L.-Corpl. Arthur A. Eagger (O.T.C.), (see p. 45) ist Med., 'i6-'i7
Private Alex. Murray Marr 1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
,, Leonard C. Scroggie (O.T.C.), (see p. 45) ist Med, 'i6-'i7
5/17588 Private James A. Symon, A Coy. (O.T.C.)
2nd Arts and ist Med., 'i6-'i7
Private George P. Webster i st Arts, ' 1 5-' 1 6
^th Gordon Highlanders.
Coy. Sergt. -Major Robert Falconer, missing since 23 July,
'16 (see p. 13) 1st Law, 'i3-'i4
L..Corpl. John Mitchell Duthie (O.T.C.) ist Med, 'i5-'i6
,, James Stuart Hutchison (O.T.C), now
commd, p. 38 ist Med, 'i5-'i6
Norman Taggart (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Private James G. Bremner (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i6-'i7
James Clark, (O.T.C.) 3rd Arts, 2nd Sci., 'i6-'i7
,, Alex. Cruden, now commd., p. 38 1st Arts, '15-'! 6
5229 Private Patrick Cecil Gammie, wounded ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
Private Robert Henry George Hector Denham (O.T.C.)
1st Med, '15-16
„ Alex. Lyall, D Coy., 16 Platoon (after doing
munitions till Aug. '16) ist Arts, 'i4-'i5
„ Alan McBain, discharged, now in munitions ist Arts, '14-15
Harvey G. Mackintosh (O.T.C.) 1st Med, 'i6-'i7
1286 Private Charles Keith McWilliam, invalided 2nd Arts, 'i3-'i4
5094 Private Henry D. Nicol ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
5098 Private Charies Pirie 3rd Arts, 'i5-'i6
44 Students
? Private Robert A. F. Smart (O.T.C.) ist Med, 'i6-'i7
? ,, Patrick Strachan, wounded, July, 'i6 Agr.
5222 Private Norman James Wilson, now commd., p. 39
1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
£th Gordon Highlanders,
4460/7 Private George Napier, wounded 3rd Sci., 'i4-'i5
6th Gordon Highlanders,
15687 L.-Corpl. Walter J. Meldrum (O.T.C.) 1st Med., 'i5-'i6
f Private James Mathewson Stuart, killed in action near
Loos, 25 Sept. '15 1st Arts, 'i3-'i4
Sth'ioth Gordon Highlanders.
1 5217 Private James R. Legge, wounded, Feb. '17 ist Arts, '15-'! 6
nth Gordon Highlanders.
L.-Corpl. Archd. C. Spark, A Coy. ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
Seaforth Highlanders.
Private John Falconer Stuart, 6th Batt. ist Sci., 'i3-'i4
Cameron Highlanders.
I Private James Hume Adams, 6th Batt, killed in action
in Flanders, 25 Sept. '15 ist Arts and Law, 'i4-'i5
4.0th Territorial Reserve Battn. {Cameron Hrs.)
9724 L.-Corpl. Robert A. Cameron, E Coy. (O.T.C.)
1st Med, 'i6-'i7
9723 L.-Corpl. Alex. R. Gray, E Coy. ist Arts, 'i6-'i7
9781 L.-Corpl. John Paton Murray, E Coy. 2nd Arts, *i6-'i7
9566 Private John J. H. Anderson, F Coy. (O.T.C.)
2nd Med, 'i6-*i7
Private David Inglis Duff ist Arts, '16-17
9726 Private Robert A. Forbes, E Coy. 2nd Arts, ist Med., 'i6-'i7
9674 Private Grigor G. French, F Coy. 1st Arts, 'i6-'i7
9721 Private John Ogilvie Gordon, E Coy. (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i6-'i7
-9722 Private James W. Hay, E Coy. 1st Arts, 'i6-'i7
Private Henry Humble, E Coy. ist Arts, 'i6-'l7
Private David George Ewen Main, F Coy. (O.T.C.)
3rd Arts and 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
Enlisted 45
9438 Private Edwin N. D. Repper, B Coy. (O.T.C) 2nd Med, '16-17
9427 Private Francis S. Thomson, B Coy. (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i6-'i7
1st Banffshire Volunteer Regiment.
David W. MacLean, Instructor and Commander of
Cabrach Platoon, nominated for commn. 3rd Sci., 'i4-'i5
Officers Training Corps.
Charles Alastair Aymer, Edin. Univ. O.T.C. (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Wm. Alex. Christie Carr, No. 2 R.A., Offr. Cadet
School 3rd Sci. Agr., 'i3-'i4 ; U.D.A.
John G. J. Coghill, 5th Offr. Cadet Batt (O.T.C.) 2nd Med., 'i6-'i7
Hugh W. Corner, nth Offr. Cadet Batt. (L.-Corpl.
O.T.C.) 2nd Med., '1 6-' 1 7
John Craig, R.G.A. Cadet School (O.T.C.) 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
9193 Reginald March Douglas, 2nd Artists' Rifles (O.T.C.)
1st Arts, 'i5-'i6
Arthur A. Eagger (from 3rd Gordons, p. 43) 12th Offr.
Cadet Battn. i st Med. , ' 1 6-' 1 7
Archibald N. Forsyth (O.T.C), R.F.A. Cadet School
2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
Ronald K. Grant (O.T.C), previously 4th Gordons 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
Edward White Irvine, R.A. Cadet School (O.T.C.) ist Med, 'i5-'i6
John Macdonald (Coll), R.A. Cadet School (from Ross
Mtn. Bty.) ^ 3rd Arts, '13-'! 4
Donald Meldrum (O.T.C.) 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
John I. Milne, Edin. Univ. O.T.C 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Robert B. Milne, Lichfield Cadet School (O.T.C) 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
Lewis Morgan (O.T.C.) ist Med, 'i6-'i7
James L. Mowat, Edin. Univ., O.T.C Artillery Unit 1st Arts, 'l6-'i7
Wilson H. G. Park, C Coy. 5th Offr. Cadet Batt.
(previously Gordon Hrs., Sup. I., p. 37), now
commd., p. 38 2nd Arts and Med, 'i5-'i6
Leonard C. Scroggie (from 3rd Gordons, p. 43), 6th Offr.
Cadet Batt. ist Med, *i6-'i7
Alick Drummond Buchanan Smith, Edin. Univ. O.T.C
Infantry Unit 1st Arts, 'i6-'i7
James Strachan (O.T.C), 2nd Offr. Cadet Batt.' ist Med, 'i6-'i7
Archibald M. Williamson, Edin. Univ. O.T.C. 1st Arts, 'i6-'i7
Robert A. G. Young (L.-Corpl. O.T.C) 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
46 Students
Royal Military Academy.
George David Rennet McRobie 1st Arts, '15-'! 6
Army Service Corps.
Private Ian R. G. Galloway, Motor Transport (O.T.C.)
1st Med., 'i6-'i7
Private Norman A. Scorgie, Mesop. Exped. Force 2nd Law, 'i5-'i6
„ Alan T. T. Whitehouse, Permanent Staff, No. i
M.T. Res. Depot 2nd Law, 'i5-'i6
Royal Army Medical Corps.
Sergt Keith S. Roden, 37th Gea Hosp., Salonika 3rd Med., 'i3-*i4
Corpl. George Matthew Fyfe, ist Scot. Gen. Hosp. ;
formerly 4th Gordons, wounded 2nd Med., 'i6-'i7
Private John Badenoch 2nd Div., 'i5-'i6; M.A.
1 12807 Robert J. Campbell, R Coy. (O.T.C.) 2nd Med, 'i6-'i7
83814 Private Alex. Rae Grant, River Sick Convoy Unit,
Mes. Exped. Force, D Basra 2nd Arts, '15-'! 6
1 660 1 Private Alex. Reid, I /2nd Highl. Fd. Amb. 51st
Highl. Div., B.E.F. 64th Bursar, '15
83836 Private Harold Ross, 42nd Gen. Hosp., B.E.F.,
Salonika 2nd Arts, '15-*! 6
Private William R. Soutter ist Arts, 'i6-'i7
86147 Private Alex. Forbes Stuart, Provisional Coy. J.
Block, Aldershot (O.T.C.) ist Med., 'i5-'i6
Private James G. Walker, B.E.F. 2nd Arts, 'i4-'i5
Army Veterinary Corps.
Corpl. Robert Watson 3rd Sci. Agr., 'i3-'i4
Private William J. Adam 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Australian Imperial Forces.
7046 Private George S. Strachan, 2nd Batt. ist Arts, 'i3-'i4
Royal Flying Corps.
Frank R. Glenesk, Air Mechanic, 5th Res. Squad.
1st Sci. Agr., 'i3-'i4
Units Unknown.
Alexander Anderson i st Sci. Agr., ' 1 5 -' 1 6
Francis Cameron 23rd Arts Burs., '16
Enlisted 47
William Forbes 6th Arts Burs., '15
?Hugh McLaren, Infantry (O.T.C.) ist Med, 'i6-'i7
Alexander MacLeod 2nd Arts, 'i5-'i6
Roderick Macleod, Infantry (O.T.C.) 1st Med., 'i5-.'i6
Henry B. Meams 2nd Arts, 'i6-'i7
Norman Charles Simpson (O.T.C.) 2nd Med., 'i6-'i7
James Stephen, discharged 21 Aug. '16 1st Law, '14-' 15
? Andrew Stott 2nd Sci. Agr., 'i5-'i6
Red Cross,
John B. Duguid, Motor Driver, Friends Amb. Unit 3rd Med., 'i5-'i6
James Smith, Quartermaster, Red Cross Hosp., Durris
1st Sci., *i4-'i5
Y.M.CA. Work.
Stanley N. Grant, at Arras 2nd Arts, 'i5-'i6
Munitions^ Certified Occupations or other War Work.
James R. Anderson, Chem. on Staff of H.M. Factory
1st Sci., 'i4-'i5
George D. Duthie, Shipbuilding ist Sci. Agr., 'i3-'i4
John L. Irvine, British Legation, Copenhagen 3rd Arts, 'i4-'i5
James Jamieson, in certified trade for Admiralty 2nd Sci., 'i4-'i5
James B. Jessiman, a certified occupation 2nd Med., 'i5-'i6
Alan McBain (from 4th Gordons, p. 43) ist Arts, '14-'! 5
William S. Milne, Chemist-in-charge, H.M. Factory 4th Sci., 'i4-'i5
James Thomson, Manufacturing Chemist, Controlled Fac-
tory 3rd Sci., 'i4-'iS
ADDITIONS TO Page 37.
2nd Lieut. Francis Pirie Wilson Alexander, R.G.A. (from
Cadet School) i st Med. , ' 1 6-' 1 7
„ „ George Morrison Thomson, R.G.A. (Pte., 4th
Gordons) 4th Arts, ' 1 5 -' 1 6
„ „ Alfred Torrie, R.G.A. (Gunner, p. 41) ist Arts, 'i5-'i6
LIST OF ORDERS AND
DECORATIONS.
K.C.M.G.— I.
Surg. -Gen. Sir James Porter, R.N., K.C.B.
M.A., '74 ; M.B., '77 ; M.D., L.L.D. (Ed.)
C.B.— 4.
Col. James Thomson, R.A.M.C., mentd. dispatches
M.A., '83 ; M.B., '86
„ Douglas Wardrop, C.V.O., R.A.M.C. M.B., '75
„ (Tempy.) James Galloway, R. A. M.C M.B., '83 ; M.D., F.R.C.S.
„ „ Henry M. W. Gray, R.A.M.C., mentd. twice
M.B., '95 ; F.R.CS.E.
C.M.G.— 8.
Col. Stuart MacDonald, R.A.M.C., mentd. thrice M.B., '84
Lieut. -Col. Andrew Hosie, R.A.M.C. M.B., '83 ; M.D.
t ,, ,, Arthur H., Lister, R.A.M.C., mentd
B.A. (Cantab.) ; M.B., '95 ; M.D.
„ „ Claude Kyd Morgan, R.A.M.C, mentd. thrice M.B., '93
„ George Scott, R.A.M.C M.B., '85
„ David S. Wanliss, O.C. 6th Batt. Austral.
Exp. Force Arts Stud., '8i-'84 ; B.A. LL.B. (Cantab.)
„ (Tempy.) Arthur D. Milne, E. Afr. Med. Serv.,
mentd. ' M.B., '92
Maj. George Hall, R.A.M.C. M.A., '00 ; M.D.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER— 23.
Col. Henry McK. Adamson, CB., mentd. M.B., '84
Lieut. -Col. (Tempy. Col.) Peter MacKessack, R.A.M.C,
mentd. B.Sc, '92 ; M.B., '96
„ Chas. Wm. Profeit, R.A.M.C,
mentd. thrice M.B., '93
„ „ James Dawson, 6th Gordon Hrs., mentd. thrice M.A., '96
„ Wm. B. Skinner, E. Afr. Med. Serv. M.B., '87
D.S.O. and Military Cross 49
Lieut. Col. George A. Smith, O.C., 8th Batt. King's Own
(R. Lane.) Regt, mentd twice Law Stud., '87-'88
Maj. (Tempy. Lieut. -Col.) Robert Bruce, O.C, 7th
Gordons, mentd. thrice M.A., '93 ; M.D.
Maj. (Tempy. Lieut. -Col.) Hugh A. Davidson,
R.A.M.C, mentd. M.B.,'oo ''
„ „ „ „ Henry F. Lyall Grant, R.A.,
mentd. M.A., '98
„ (Acting Lieut. Col.) William Rae, 30th Canad. Inf.
Batt., mentd. twice M.A., '03 ; B.L.
„ (Tempy. Lieut. Col.) Theod. F. Ritchie, R.A.M.C,
mentd. M.B., '98
„ „ „ „ David Rorie, R.A.M.C.
Med. Stud., '82.'83 ; M.B., Ed. ; D.P.H.,
Aberd.
„ „ „ „ Alex. MacG. Rose, R.A.M.C,
mentd. twice M.B., '99
„ Jas. A. Butchart, R.F.A., mentd. Alumnus
„ Robt. Mitchell, O.C, 2nd Highl. Fd. Coy. Highl.
Divisl. Engineers, mentd. M.A., '94; B.L.
„ Michael B. H. Ritchie, R.A.M.C., mentd. twice M.B., '04
Capt. (Tempy. Maj. Acting Lieut.-Col.) Alex. D. Eraser,
R.A.M.C., mentd. twice M.B., '06
„ Hamilton MacCombie, Birm. Univ. O.T.C, Worces-
tershire Regt. M.A., '00; B.Sc. (Lond.)
„ (Actg. Lieut-Col.) George Mackie, R.A.M.C, mentd. M.B., '91
„ (Tempy.) Joseph Ellis Milne, R.A.M.C, mentd.
M.A., '88 ; M.D.
Edmund H. Moore, R.A.M.C. M.B., '11
Donald O. Riddel, R.A.M.C, mentd. M.B., '12
Lieut. Robert Jas. Mackay, M.C, Arg. and Suthd. Hrs.,
mentd. Arts Stud., '99-'oo
MILITARY CROSS— 40.
Capt. (Tempy. Maj. acting Lieut.-Col.) Alex. D. Eraser,
D.S.O., R.A.M.C, mentd. twice M.B., '06
„ „ „ Maurice J. Williamson, R.A.M.C,
mentd. M.B., '08
„ (and Adjt.) William S. Trail, 57th (Wilde's) Rifles,
Ind. Army, mentd. Alumnus, '01 -'03
4
50 List of Orders and Decorations
Capt Austin B. Clarke, R.A.M.C., S.R.O. M.B., '15
„ Robert S. Gumming, R.A.M.C., S.R.O. M.B., '15
„ George F. Dawson, R.A.M.C. M.A., '03 ; M.B., '06
„ Robert Forgan, R.A.M.C., S.R.O., mentd. M.A., '11 ; M.B., '15
„ Wm. John S. Ingram, R.A.M.C, S.R.O. M.B., '12
,, Wm. Brooks Keith, R.A.M.C., T.F. M.B., '06 ; M.D.
„ William Lyall, 5th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '06
„ Herbert S. Milne, R.A.M.C., S.R.O. M.B., '09
„ Wm. Fraser Munro, R.A.M.C, S.R.O., mentd. M.B., '03
Tempy. Capt. William Ainslie, R.A.M.C. M.B., '97 ; M.D.
„ Archd. S. K. Anderson, R.A.M.C, with
a bar M.A., '09; M.B.,'14
„ „ John Lyon Booth, 2nd Seaforth Hrs. M.A., '14
„ William Campbell, R.A.M.C. M.B., '05
„ Rudolph Wm. Galloway, R.A.M.C., mentd. M.B., '14
„ „ Wm. Wilson Ingram, R.A.M.C, mentd. M.B., '12
„ „ George Robertson Lipp, R.A.M.C. M.B., '14
„ Jas Wm. Littlejohn, R.A.M.C xM.B., '08 ; M.D.
„ „ John Low, R.A.M.C, mentd. M.B., '99
,, JohnMoir Mackenzie, R.A.M.C M.A., '11 ; M.B., '15
„ „ Jas. Murray MacLaggan, R. A. M.C. M.B.,'13
„ John Hay Moir, R.A.M.C. M.B., '07 ; M.D.
„ John Boyd Orr, R.A.M.C. M.A., M.D. (Glasg.)
„ Alistair G. Peter, R.A.M.C., mentd. M.A., '08 ; M.B.
„ Dav. J. Shirres Stephen, R.A.M.C M.B., '10 ; M.D.
„ ,, Geo. R. Wilson Stewart, Gordon Hrs.,
O.C Trench Mortar Batty. 1st Med.
„ „ James S. Stewart, R.A.M.C, mentd. twice M.B.,'13
„ Jas. W. Tocher, R.A.M.C. M.B., '11
Tempy. Surg. Geo. Lee Ritchie, R.N. Division M.B., '14
Lieut. Robert Jas. Mackay, D.S.O., Arg. and Suthd. Hrs.
Arts Stud., '99-00
,, David MacKenzie, 6th Gordon Hrs., mentd. M.A., '05
Tempy. Lieut Frederick Wm. Bain, 4th Gordon Hrs.,
mentd. Former Agr. Stud.
„ „ Thos. Jas. Gordon, R.E., T.F. ist Med.
„ Peter M. Turnbull, R.A.M.C. M.B., '01
Q.M. and Hon. Lieut. Robert C T. Mair, 6th Seaforths
M.A., '02 ; LL.B. (Edin.)
f 2nd Lieut. Wm. Bruce Anderson, 5th Gordon Hrs. M.A., 'n
Foreign Orders and Decorations 51
f 2nd Lieut. John S. Grant, 6th Gordon Hrs. M.A., 'ii ; B.D., '15
„ „ (Acting Capt.) Jas. MacD. Henderson, 4th
Gordon Hrs., with bar M.A., '12
„ ,, Allan Hendry, Gordon Hrs. About to matriculate
f „ „ Donald F. Jenkins, 6th Seaforth Hrs. ist Agr., 'i4-'i5
,, ,, Ronald Maclure Savege, 2nd Northumbr. Br.
R.F.A. 2nd Med., 'I4-'I5
,, ,, Harold Addison Sinclair, 4th Gordon Hrs, M.A., '02
DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL— i.
f Capt. W. S. Pirie, Roy. Scots Fusiliers, mentd. Arts Stud., 'o5-'o7
MILITARY MEDAL— 2.
Corpl. Benjamin Knowles, King Edward's Horse (now
Tempy. Lieut. R.A.M.C.) mentd M.B., '07
Private Frank Emslie, 4th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '06
RECOMMENDED FOR THE VICTORIA CROSS— 2.
t Lieut. Wm. Geo. Rae Smith, loth King's Own Yorks,
L.I. attd. 2 1st Divisl. Cyclists, killed while saving a
wounded comrade Former Agr. Stud.
t2nd Lieut. Robt. Jas. Smith, 6th Seaforth Hrs., killed
while saving a wounded comrade Former Agr. Stud., N.D.A.
FOREIGN ORDERS AND DECORATIONS— 9.
Lieut. -Gen. George Francis Milne, D.S.O., Serbian Order
of the White Eagle (ist Class with Swords)» Arts Stud., '8i-'83
Col. Stewart MacDonald, C.M.G. R.A.M.C, French
Croix de Guerre M.B., '84
Lieut. -Col. James Dawson, D.S.O., 6th Gordons, Monte-
negrin Order of Danilo M. A., '99
Maj. Maurice Forbes White, I.M.S., French Croix de Guerre M.B., '01
Tempy. Capt. Francis Fred. Brown, R.A.M.C., Serbian
Order of St. Sava (5th Class) M.B., '13
Donald Olson Riddel, D.S.O., R.A.M.C,
Montenegrin Silver Medal for Bravery M.B., '12
„ Wm. Miller Will, R.A.M.C., Serbian Order
of St. Sava (5th Class) M.B., '11
Tempy. Surg. Wm. Innes Gerrard, R.N.V.R., Russian
Order of St. Anne (3rd Class) M.B., '09
Sergt. Charles A. Coquerel, French Army, French Croix
de Guerre Arts Stud., 'lO-'ll
52 List of Orders and Decorations
Besides most of the above the following have been mentioned in
Dispatches — 4 8 .
Lieut. -Gen. George F. Milne, D.S.O. Arts Stud, '8 1 -'8 3
Lieut.-Col. Geo. H. Bower, 7th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '91
,, „ Thos. Finlayson Dewar, T.D., R.A.M.C.
M.B., '87 ; M.D.
„ Thomas Eraser, R.A.M.C., T.F. M.A., '94 ; M.B., '98
„ ,, Philip Jas. Lumsden, I. M.S. M.B., '86
f >, „ John E. Macqueen, 6th Gordon Hrs. Law Stud., '91 -'95
Maj. (Tempy. Lieut.-Col.) Wm. Geo. Maydon, R.A.M.C. M.B., '01
„ „ „ Alfred). Williamson, R.A.M.C,
T.F. M.A., '05 ; M.D.
„ (Brevet Lieut. -Col.) Farquhar MacLennan, R.A.M.C. M.B., '98
„ Alexander Don, R.A.M.C., T.F.
M.A., '84 ; M.B., '94 ; F.R.C.S.E.
„ Frank Fleming, T.D., R.F.A., T.F.
„ Jas. Wm. Garden, R.F.A., T.F. M.A., '99; B.L.
„ Wm. Duncan Ritchie, LM.S. M.B., '99
„ Cresswell Fitzherbert White, R.A.M.C. M.B., '87
Capt. (Tempy. Maj.) Eric. Wm. Harcourt Brander, 4th
Gordon Hrs. M.A., '10 ; LL.B.
„ William Cowie,R.A.M.C., T.F. M.A., '92 ; M.B.
„ (and Adjt.) Robert Adam, 7th Gordon Hrs., thrice
M.A., '00 ; B.L.
t „ Henry Brian Brooke, 3rd Gordon Hrs. Agr. Stud., 'o6-'o7
„ George Davidson, R.A.M.C, T.F. M.A., '84; M.D.
„ Leslie Evan Outram Davidson, R.A., twice Arts Stud., '99-'oo
„ Richard Edw. Flowerdew, I. M.S., twice M.B., '08
„ James Lawson, R.A.M.C, S.R.O. M.A., '78 ; M.B.
„ David Murdoch Marr, R.A.M.C., S.R.O. M.B., '14
„ George Spencer Melvin, R.A.M.C., T.F. M.B., '09; M.D.
„ John Phimister Mitchell, R.A.M.C, S.R.O. M.B., '07 ; M.D.
„ Henry Edward Shortt, LM.S. M.B., *io
,, Alex. Pyper Taylor, Seaforths, attd. 51st Divisl.
Cyc. C M.A., '07; B.Sc.
„ Jas. Ettershank Gordon Thomson, R.A.M.C., T.F. M.B., '07
„ William J. Webster, R.A.M.C M.B., '15
Tempy. Capt. Simon J. Coulter Eraser, R.A.M.C. M.B., '93 ; M.D.
„ John Kirton, R.A.M.C. M.A., '11 ; M.B., '14
Mentioned in Dispatches 53
Tempy. Capt. Wm. Geo. MacDonald, R.A.M.C. M.B., '08
„ „ Duncan James MacRae, R.A.M.C. M.B., '03
„ Edmund Lewis Reid, R.A.M.C. M.B., '10 ; F.R.C.S.
t „ „ William Russell, R. A. M.C. M.B., '90 ; M.D.
„ Robert Tindall, R.A.M.C. M.B., '09
Rev. Joseph Johnston, Tempy. Chaplain to the Forces M.A., '94
„ James Tindal Soutter, Tempy. Chaplain to the
Forces M.A., '10
Lieut. Henry Hargrave Cowan, R.F.A., T.F. Alumnus
„ Murray Munro Jack, 5th Gordon Hrs. ist Arts, '14-'! 5
„ William McHardy, E. African Field Force M.A., '07
„ James Scott, 6th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '13
Tempy. Lieut. Arthur P. Hart (Lieut. -Col. Retired),
R.A.M.C. M.B., '79
,, ,, George Grant Macdonald, R.E. B.Sc, Agr., '09
t „ ,, George Harper Macdonald, attd. 2nd
Gordons M.A., '08
2nd Lieut. William Taylor, 4th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '13
Tempy. 2nd Lieut. Godfrey Geddes, attd. 4th Gordon
Hrs. M.A.,'15
fSergt. Alex. Allardyce, 4th Gordon Hrs. M.A., '04 ; B.L.
The following were brought to the notice of the Secretary of State for
War for Valuable Services rendered in connection with the War. — 9.
Lieut. -Col. (and Hon. Col.) D. B. Douglas Stewart,
V.D., T.F. Res. M.A., '82
„ ,, George H. Bower, 7th Gordon Hrs. and now
Royal Hrs. M.A., '91
„ Harry Herbert Brown, R.A.M.C. M.B., '83
Maj. (Tempy. Lieut. -Col.) Edward Wm. Watt, 4th
Gordon Hrs. M.A., '98
„ Wm. Gordon Craigen, R.F.A., T.F. M.A., '05 ; LL.B.
Tempy. Maj. Francis Grant Ogilvie, C.B., War Office
M.A., '79; B.Sc, LL.D. (Ed.)
Capt. (Tempy. Maj.) Robert Bruce, R.E., T.F. M.A., '05 ; B.L.
„ ,, „ Clement Lee Cobban, Indian Army M.A., '00
„ Patrick Ashley Cooper, R.F.A., T.F. B.A. (Cantab.) ; LL.B., '12
„ John Reid, R.E. M.A., '93
54 Summary of the Provisional Roll
Summary of the Provisional Roll and Two
Supplements.
Offirs
and Volunteers
I. Members of the Staff not Graduates of this University
II. Graduates Commissioned —
Royal Navy — Medical Service (incl. 4 civilians)
Regular Army, incl. S.R.O. and Tempy. Commissions
„ „ R.A.M.C., incl. S.R.O. and Tempy
Commissions
Territorial Force
„ R.A.M.C.
Volunteers
Indian Army, incl. Reserve of
„ „ Chaplains .
India Medical Service
Army Chaplains Department
Overseas Forces
„ ,, Chaplains
„ „ Medical Service
Graduates Commissioned
Graduates Enlisted
„ Volunteers (very imperfect list)
„ Serving with Brit. Red. Cross or as Dressers
,, on Y.M.C.A. Service to Troops
Graduates on Service
„ in charge of Red Cross or Military Hospitals
III. Alumni (Non -Graduates) Commd. ....
„ „ Enlisted ....
„ „ Serving with Brit. Red. Cross
Alumni on Service
IV. Students Commissioned
„ Enlisted .
„ Serving as Dressers, etc
11
Aberdeen Univ. O.T.C
Students on Service *
47
85
483
192
206
9
12
2
41
46
II
4
53
1191
229
6
3
6
87
81
159
381
5
65
20
1435
37
169
610
Total of Members of Univ. and Alumni on Service
Add those who but for Service would have matriculated
for first time
„ Sacrist and Univ. Servants on Service (2 commd.)
Total on Service
2271
29
18
2318
* These are all undergraduate students ; among the graduate* numbered above there
are at least 35 who have still to complete second courses of study.
Summary of the Provisional Roll 55
The Roll of the Fallen numbers one hundred and seventy,
and there are six others missing ; and fourteen prisoners of war.
The number of the wounded has not been fully ascertained ; towards 200
have been reported.
The Honours awarded have been : K.C.M.G. — i; C.B. — 4; C.M.G. —
8 ; D.S.O. — 23 ; Military Cross — 44 ; Distinguished Conduct Medal — i
Military Medal — 2 ; Foreign Decorations — 9 ; while 84 have been mentioned
in dispatches — several of these more than once.
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